Justice

To begin with, on April 19, 1995, a homemade bomb blew up in the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma City. The bomb killed 168 people ? build-employers, people who had come for services offered in the building, and 19 children under the age of five who were in the day-care center on the building's second floor. The event shocked the entire country, devastated Oklahoma City, and shattered the lives of the families of those who were killed.

After an exhaustive search, the FBI identified Timothy McVeigh as the man who made the bomb, drove the van carrying the bomb, and set the bomb to explode soon after the building had opened for business for the day. His motive was anger at the government and a distrust of justice. He did not know nor did he have any personal arguments with any of the victims who died in the blast.In June, 1997 a jury in Denver found McVeigh guilty of committing the crimes. During the sentencing phase of the trial, many family members of those killed were allowed to testify.

All were angry and deeply hurt. Many wanted McVeigh to die. But a significant minority thought that he should be allowed to live.The testimonies of the victims' relatives were published.

Here are two different views of persons who lost loved ones."? There was nothing arbitrary about McVeigh's conscious decision to do what he did. He chose to park the truck, put in his earplugs and walk off.

When he did that, he took away the rights of 168 people to ever make decisions of their own again. My brother and the others can't elect to work, or play, or spend time with their families. So I don't want McVeigh to have the freedom to even get a drink of water in his cell. If those 168 victims cannot make the most basic of chooses, why should he? McVeigh has to pay for the choice he made on April, 19, 1995 ? and he has to pay with his life.

"."Most people believe Timothy McVeigh should be put to death. I certainly understand their anger: my daughter Julie, a Spanish-language translator who worked for the Social Security Administration at the Murrah buildings, lost her life in the bombing.

I am filled with rage at McVeigh. But I don't think he should be executed? Lock him up for good, with no chance to get out. Is that punishment enough? The part of me that is still screaming 'kill him' does not think so. Nevertheless, my Catholicism teaches that even he has a soul, we must at least try to save him ? and even try to forgive him. I am still too angry to deal with that now. But I'll have to be forgiving if I am to have peace.

That would be harder if he is executed. I don't want McVeigh's death on my head?".One week after testimonies were published, McVeigh was sentenced to die by lethal injection.The question of dual nature of justice is sure to be illustrated by the story of this crime.

There is a mass murderer and the society as a representative of victims. The murderer has his personal vision of justice. So the suffered people do.

Everybody looks for righteousness in his or her life. All of them are sure to have their own vision of justice. However, sometimes their standpoints are deeply different. And here is the problem of misunderstanding in the society. People are still building the Babylon tower and speaking different languages: somebody finds the world to be beautiful and somebody thinks that it is wrong, full of hate and injustice.

Therefore, the main matter for such persons is to change and modify it globally. Not for better, unfortunately. They are ready to ruin, kill, and make others suffer greatly. They name themselves "missionaries of integrity", "judges", "Messiahs". They are cruel and angry with the government, officers and just people. They want the world to repay for their unluckiness, loneliness, nothingness.

That's why they commit awful crimes, trying to make people to be afraid of life.Timothy McVeigh felt the injustice. He wanted to be great, famous.

He wanted to feel the power. But he was too week to be noticed. And he decided to lead a Judge.

So he made a bomb and shattered 168 worlds. This blast didn't kill his own fear and disappointment; it destroyed numerous hopes for future. The mass-murderer realized his own unmoral dream of justice. He passed the Rubicon of humanity, he committed the crime.The way to get rid of the same crimes, to save our world from the darkness of terrorism, violence and cruelty is the administrative judgment.What do people mean saying "justice", "judgment", "judicature", "a judge"? Of course, they use these words to name one of the most conventional standpoints, based in our mind genetically, and formed millions years ago.

Society is always waiting for punishing the "rule-breaker". That is a way to prevent the other members repeat the mistake. That's a historical form of justice.Much time has past.

The world has changed, but people are the same. Their methods of solution the main problems are the same too. We still differentiate good and evil, fight with evil. Moreover, if we are still able to undertake steps to save our society, we will keep it protected.

To finish with I can't but say that we all are the guardians of our future. If we remember it, our life will get the sense and hope for better.

By: Lloyd Johns