Lex talionis
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These two duplicate articles need to be merged
Literally "law as retaliation" in the Latin language, lex talionis is the belief that one of the purposes of the law is to provide retaliation for an offended party. This early belief is reflected in the code of Hammurabi and in the laws of the Old Testament (e.g., Exod. 21:23-25. Lev. 24:18-21, Deut. 19:21). The most common expression of lex talionis is "an eye for an eye". Legal codes following the principle of lex talionis have one thing in common: proscribed counterpunishment for an offense. In the famous legal code written by Hammurabi, the principle of exact reciprocity is very clear. For example, if a person caused the death of another person's child, that person's child would be put to death.
Various ideas regarding the origins of lex talionis exist, but a common and accepted one is that lex talionis developed as early civilizations had an increased population and a less well-established system for retribution of wrongs, feuds and vendettas, threatened social fabric. Despite having been replaced with newer modes of legal theory, lex talionis systems served a critical purpose in the development of social systems — the establishment of a body whose purpose was to enact the retaliation and ensure that this was the only punishment. This body was the state in one of its earliest forms.
Examples
It is improper to say that lex talionis specifically refers to eye-for-an-eye codes of justice. Rather it applies to the broader class of legal systems that specify formulaic penalities for specific crimes. The simplist example is the an eye for an eye principle. In that case, the rule was that punishment must be exactly equal to the crime. Conversely. the twelve tables of Rome merely proscribed particular penalties for particular crimes. Under the British Common Law, successful plantiffs were entitled to repayment equal to their loss (in monetary terms). In the modern tort law system, this has been extended to translate non-economic losses into monetary dollars as well.
An Alternative
The only known alternative to lex talionis is the "correctional" prison system first instituted by the Americans in the early 20th century. Rather the retribution, this introduced the idea that the purpose of law enforcement is correct the deviant nature of criminals by compelling them to reflect and lament their crimes during a lengthy incarcaration.de:Ius talionis fr:Loi du Talion pt:Lei do Talião