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Tuesday, July 17, 2007 - 11:17pmSanction this postReply
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Justice & Gender (Ed's thoughts re: a recent O.W. show)

I believe that the name of the show is "Confronting Justice" (Oprah just spoke those words in relation to the show). The camera zoomed in as Rico and Jennifer were sitting opposite to their children's grandfather's killer -- in a maximum-security prison. The killer killed because of the victim's sexual orientation. Jennifer told the killer that she forgives him for killing her father out of sheer hate. Rico told him that he doesn't forgive him and that he can rot in jail.

These 2 different responses to the same crime seem to suggest a gender difference with regard to justice. Perhaps there is an alternative explanation. Maybe there's no gender difference with regard to justice. Maybe I merely thought so, and so I worked to find evidence in support of a pet theory of mine. Hopefully others can shed light on this. 

Any comments?

Ed




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Wednesday, July 18, 2007 - 1:10amSanction this postReply
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Don't polls normally show that women are more "liberal" and less likely than men to support the death penalty?

I don't know that you can draw any important conclusions from this regarding criminal justice or personal philosophy. People's conceptions of forgiveness vary. If the murdered man was the woman's father, she may have felt entitled to forgive his killer, while her husband may not have felt that privilege. I certainly couldn't tell the killer of someone I don't know that I forgive him. It wouldn't be my place. Plus what do we know about the religious or other beliefs of the couple, how they were raised, and so forth?

My personal inclination is always to forgive where I can. But by this I would mean dropping my own personal animosity - not absolving guilt or foregoing punishment. Just because I might be able to forgive my lover's killer wouldn't necessarily mean that I would want his murderer not to be executed. Justice and personal feelings are two separate matters.

Ted Keer

(Edited by Ted Keer
on 7/18, 1:52am)




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Wednesday, July 18, 2007 - 1:48amSanction this postReply
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Jennifer told the killer that she forgives him for killing her father out of sheer hate.
But you didn't mention if she also wants him to be immediately released from jail. I mean, that's the "justice" part, right?...(The fact that the guy is is serving time for his crime.) If she thinks he shouldn't be punished at all, then you're right...she has a warped view of justice.

But the simple fact that she forgave him has nothing to do with actual justice. As long as she agrees the guy belongs in jail, justice is being served, and she is in support of it.

Also, regarding forgiveness:

Oprah (and other shows) frequently have guests on who forgive the perpetrators of crimes against them; this is often the point of the show, as this forgiveness is seen as inspiring to other people. Basically, these people claim that if they don't forgive, they'll obsess about the crime, and the criminal, and their anger and hatred will take over their lives in a negative way. They say that the forgiveness is for themselves, and their own piece of mind...not to absolve the criminal.

Regarding the gender issue:

Sometimes victims actually do express pity for the criminal, and not only forgive them, but go out of their way to help them. There is a story of another Oprah guest, a man, whose wife and daughter were killed by a teen drag racer. The man, Bruce Murakami, not only forgave the kid, he even assisted in getting him a lighter sentence than he would have received. If this is just a woman thing, how do we explain the fact that, far beyond mere forgiveness, this man actively involved himself in the justice system in order to aid his family's killer?

Apparently both sexes can choose to forgive, or not, and both can have different views of justice. Not that the two necessarily have one to do with the other.

(Apologies if some of this is rehashing part of Ted's point, but I started writing my post before his appeared and I didn't feel like writing a whole new one.) 





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