Defining concepts is important. Perfect justice always included mercy for me. I believe most jurors strive for perfect justice. What I found practicing law was that the quality of lawyers is very uneven in the real world A good lawyer makes a big difference. The other obvious part is access to funds and the ability to wait a long time for results from litigation. When I practiced corporate law, I would be so angry with the government lawyers. A few agencies were great. The rest were mediocre. No one seems to defend the interests of the American public very much. We stayed until 9 pm or 10 pm every night and often worked weekends. It was expected that you represent your client. Government lawyers line up at five to get their car rides home. There were some white knights with public interest groups. They had zeal. The legal arguments were a mess but the judges seemed happy that someone was stepping up.
What is more there is no denying that racism plays a strong part in the American criminal justice system. Are Americans inherently more violent than other people? We have such huge percentages of persons (mostly minorities) in prison compared to other countries.
I am a recreational Shakespeare reader. Wasn't Portia's big speech in The Merchant of Venice about mercy.
We can look at the Witness world for perfect justice. One would hope the big J would be perfectly just. We can look and look and never find justice. This monster creator God makes humans. Our brains are not His brain. We have messy emotions. There is the dark side in every human. He does not like free will. Outside of the Bible, we can look at judicial councils where no due process exists. What is more about one half of Witnesses (though far more than 1/2 in numbers) have no responsible positions. We must submit to creatures with penises. It does not matter what our natural talents are. I used to say to my uncle that Jehovah should have created sisters mentally retarded b/c with high level mental retardation (sorry I forgot the pc term) we could clean house just fine.
It is sad to look on and stand mute when you are just as talented. Where is any justice there?
One would think it would be just to give notice that a suspected pedophile is active in the congregation. They can use the word beloved of TV news and politicians "alleged." The scriptural requirements of the two witness rule could be fulfilled by reasoning that the two witness rule's purpose is that unfound accusations do not warrant ruining someone's life. Acknowledging that social scientists have now done extensive research and found that pedophiles are likely to re-offend in horrific numbers and that small children do not lie would be an important step. The totality of circumstances could be examined. Frankly, just give notice all the time. Should children be sacrificed for the rights of an adult. Justice would be telling every elder to immediately notify the police, not Bethel. Elders are not prosecutors. The Witness judicial council is not a judicial function. They are elders, not judges. So many churches are sincerely playing catch up after the Roman Catholic debacle. Bishops are stating that they acted in good faith in the 1950s but research has proven those beliefs wrong.
When my father was going to punish me by pulling me out of high school so he could obsessively watch me, the government protected me. I knew I could plead my case before a judge, if necessary. I was certain the judge would find for me. Students for a Democratic Society was active in my city. They were constantly trying to raise my class consciousness--unsuccessfully. Thanks to them I knew all the case law regarding student rights. The government protects children with blood transfusions, too. It stops parents from overreaching. The child can mature and make its own decisions. I never thought about this before but I saw justice. Perfect justice is a goal.
Jehovah is not just. Suffering is not just. I hope Jesus is a step up.
Let me add that St. Thomas has always been my favorite apostle for asking questions. Humans can strive for justice even if a portion of the populace believes in a vindictive God. The vindictiveness always repelled me.
