An Eye-For-An-Eye In Iran: Seems Fair Enough To Me

An Eye-For-An-Eye In Iran: Seems Fair Enough To Me

The Constitution forbids us from engaging in “cruel and unusual punishment;” so we certainly aren’t allowed to follow Iran’s lead here. However, don’t look for any high-minded rants from me about how “uncivilized” Iran is supposedly being here.

The procedure was planned for Tehran at midday on Saturday in the presence of Ameneh Bahrami, the young woman he attacked and blinded, under a sentence called qesas (retribution in kind) imposed by a court in 2009.

She had demanded that the blinding be carried out after her university classmate Majid Movahedi threw a bucket of acid over her when she spurned his repeated offers of marriage. The punishment had been due to be carried out at the judiciary hospital in Tehran, under the supervision of a doctor and with representatives of the coroners’ office and the prosecution present.

Miss Bahrami, who now lives in Spain, was 24 when she first met Mr Movahedi in Iran.

She has undergone several operations which have failed to restore her sight, and is still badly disfigured from the attack. She recently said she was prepared to blind Mr Movahedi herself.

“I’ve suffered so much in these years but now I am really happy,” Miss Bahrami said in an interview with an Iranian newspaper.
“The verdict is completely legal and I would like to carry it out. But if it is not possible, then the physician designated by the judiciary will do it,” she said.

She has argued that carrying out the sentence will spare other Iranian women from suffering acid attacks by men.

Many people would say this is barbaric, but to me, it seems much fairer than the way we’d handle it.

Let’s say Majid Movahedi threw that acid in Bahrami’s face here in the United States. Since it’s an attempt to cause serious bodily injury, it would probably be considered Aggravated Assault. Depending on the state, the sentencing would likely range anywhere from 1-10 years in the slammer. Meanwhile, the victim of the attack is going to be blind and horribly disfigured for the rest of her life.

Is she ever going to get married? Probably not. Will she ever hold a normal job? Probably not. Will she have to hear whispers, groans of disgust, and pity in the voices of people she talks to for the rest of her life? Yes, probably. So, the innocent victim has her life destroyed forever and the criminal goes to jail for a few years, gets out and can go on with his life? There’s nothing just about that.

Movahedi losing HIS EYES? That’s still not quite balancing the scale, but it’s closer to even. It’s also such a horrible punishment that it’s much more likely to dissuade other people from trying the same thing. If you believe the punishment should fit the crime, then Iran seems to be on the right track.

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