“Eye for an Eye”
By William Ian Miller
(Cambridge University Press, 304 pages)
Revenge may be sweet, but is it the best way to resolve disputes? In our enlightened times, we generally say no. Sure, modern justice can be frustratingly abstract, usually offering nothing more than hard time for wrongdoers or cold cash for victims. However, at least no one else gets hurt after the courts do their jobs. But as seen by the popularity of the death penalty in the United States and the resurgence of sharia law in some Islamic nations, forms of justice that extract more literal punishments still hold a strong appeal.
