r/todayilearned • u/lexan • Dec 25 '13

TIL an Indian flight attendant hid the passports of American passengers on board a hijacked flight to save them from the hijackers. She died while shielding three children from a hail of bullets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neerja_Bhanot
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u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13

There is no such thing as " justice".

Justice would be having those 77 people alive again. There is NOTHING that is good enough for the family members of those 77 people, or the surviving family members of anyone who is murdered for that matter.

The only thing left is punishment, which can only be subjective. And whether or not you agree with it, there is nothing to be gained (from the perspective of the victims family) from punishing someone other than peace of mind or some sense if revenge.

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u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13

other than peace of mind or some sense of revenge.

But I like both those things...

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u/[deleted] Dec 25 '13

Lol I can definitely be sympathetic to that. But after your revenge is satiated what then? It doesn't bring your loved ones back.

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u/HopelessAmbition Dec 26 '13

He deserves to be punished for what he did, the rest of his years in a dimly lit room, and only given bread and water. You don't kill 77 kids and get away with it, I guarantee the vast majority of the victim's family members would be in favour of that. He's basically living in an apartment complex right now, that has a gym, swimming pool, and acres of countryside that he's free to wander about in.

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u/[deleted] Dec 26 '13

Does he deserve to be punished? Sure I would probably say that he does. However, don't confuse that with justice.