It is an interesting fact that law is not developed in a vacuum, that it is dependent upon the vagaries of popular opinion and cultural context. This is important to remember because we are often told that Law is impartial and Justice is absolute. How can this be if our courts can be swayed by the outcry of the populace? When judges are answerable to the citizenry? Could we possibly claim judicial impartiality when the judges have to bring their own perspective and viewpoint to the bench?
We are in fact blind in thinking that Justice ever could or even should be blinkered. What good is law that does not see the human face of those it would judge? How can it be "Just" to convict a person of a capital offense regardless of circumstance? What about age? Will we kill our own children for their innocent mistakes with the same laws that murder adult citizens who have premeditated a murder? Why is it I can only list that one capital offense? Why is rape or perjury not punishable by death? This makes no sense, to have judges to arbit punishment while at the same time taking away any differentiation they can make. There is no judgement involved in applying an algorithm: X crime = Y punishment. There is no justice in not differentiating between passionate and premeditated, youth and adult, cruel and competent.
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