The pleasure was all mine last week when I watched the 1978 movie Midnight Express. It is about Billy Hayes, who is sent to a Turkish prison after getting caught with drugs before boarding a plane in Istanbul.
Hayes has 53 days left to serve. He sees the light at the end of the tunnel. Hayes just wants to finish his sentence and go home. But he is brought before court and hears his initial four-year sentence is changed to life in prison.
And in a Turkish prison, it is a death sentence! Life is literally snatched from his hands!
Hayes erupts at court officials with these incredible words:
“I just wish for once that you could be in my shoes, Mr. Prosecutor, and then you would know something that you don’t know: mercy! That the concept of a society is based on the quality of that mercy; its sense of fair play; its sense of justice!”
Crime is a concern in Canada. If you poll the general public, it is likely the vast majority feel that sentences are too lenient.
Remembering Hayes’ words: “That the concept of a society is based on the quality of that mercy; its sense of fair play; its sense of justice!”
Where is that balance?
Every country in the world has its own definition of that balance. Justice varies from country to country. In many cases, religion plays a huge role in determining laws and justice. Christianity, Muslim, Hindu – they all have a different idea of how justice is best served. As laws evolve in each country, they change depending on public reaction and the role religious belief plays.
It is laughable when the legal system says religion does not play a role. Of course it does! Perhaps not in the meting out of punishment but it certainly does in the creation of laws and sentences. The same crime in Turkey or Russia is certainly viewed differently in England and Canada. Some countries still have the death penalty where as others do not. Some opposing the death penalty like to call those who still enforce it as “uncivilized” nations.
Whether you are Billy Hayes or a tourist taking a trip outside Canada, the fact is you are entering a nation where its laws must be respected and followed. If you do not, you run the risk of falling victim to those country’s laws.
Remember the 18-year-old American who was caned four times in 1994? Michael Fay was found guilty of vandalism and sentenced to six lashings, later reduced to four. Remember the uproar? Too damn bad! Fay was guilty of the crime and was subject to the laws of Thailand, not of his home United States of America.
Many abhorred the punishment. Truth be told, however, many applauded the punishment, believing a good “kick in the ass” is what most criminals need instead of the coddling they receive in the Canadian justice system. To put it bluntly, a kick in the ass is better than a kiss on the ass.
But there is that mercy argument Hayes made in Turkey. Again, “that the concept of a society is based on the quality of that mercy; its sense of fair play; its sense of justice!”
The struggle continues in every nation to determine that mercy. Does the Canadian mercy shown in our justice system mean we are a more just and civilized society? No!
Does it mean that the Canadian legal system is better than others? No!
Each country must determine that for themselves. There is no absolute right and there is no absolute wrong. All it tells us is that based on our beliefs, it is what most Canadians want.
Chris Clegg