Failure of the Legal System in Atonement, Wonder Boys and The Round Hou

The code of Hammurabi, dating back to 1772 BC, is one of the oldest recorded legal codes and reflects the early Babylonians views of justice. The code is best kn give birth for an tenderness for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. By enumerating punishments for certain crimes the code removes ambiguity and combined with its relatively harsh penalties, especially on lower class citizens, served as an utile deterrent. More profoundly however, Hammurabis code formally shifted justice-seeking responsibilities from the individual to the state. Today, most modern legal systems are structured similarly to Hammurabis code with their own codified laws and listed punishments. Capital punishment and the idea that the punishment should fit he crime are derivatives from the ancient text that are widespread in the field today. Hammurabis code however was not without fault. Pervasive throughout the archetype of modern law are inequitable punishments determined by ones social standing. For examp le, the 8th law of Hammurabis code states, If any one steel cattle or sheep, or an ass, or a pig or a goat, if it belong to a god or to the court, the pillager shall pay thirtyfold therefore if they belonged to a freed man of the king he shall pay tenfold if the thief has nothing with which to pay he shall be put to death (King). Both the social standing of the violator and the victim of the crime played a super role in determining what the penalty would be. Today, our view of justice has ostensibly metamorphosed, to the extent that most people today would recognize that the 8th law from Hammurabis code was prejudiced and wrong. Although some may wish to remove themselves from such an unjust system, the reality is that we are not far from it. The mode... ...sity, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2013. . Lee, Jaeah, and Brett Bownell. Charts Why Youre in Deep Trouble If You Cant Afford a Lawyer. Mother Jones. Mother Jones, 1 July 2013. Web. 10 Dec. 2013. . McEwan, Ian. Atonement A Novel. New Yor k N.A. Talese/Doubleday, 2002. Print. Stevenson, Bryan. We Need to Talk about an Injustice. TED Ideas worth(predicate) Spreading. TED Talks, Mar. 2012. Web. 10 Dec. 2013. Wright, Paul. Prison Legal News - Legal Articles, Cases and Court Decisions. Prison Legal News. Prison Legal News, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2013. .