The debate on whether Mercy and Justice can co-exist can be dated back to the Elizabethan Times. One of the most prominent plays in the world depicting the battle between both virtues would be Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare. Mercy and Justice are said to be not able to co-exist due to their difference in meaning - Justice is equity, and Mercy is forgiveness. However, I think otherwise and that they can actually co-exist, and it has been done before.
Justice - the virtue that is defined as "a concept of moral righteousness based on ethics, nationality, law, religion, or equity, along with the punishment of breach of said ethics. Justice is enacted in court to bring about fairness and equality to the human race, and in turn, to achieve a better well-being of the society. Some examples would be rapists locked up in prison for the welfare of the masses. As such, Justice is being upheld here whereby a person who causes harm to others is being locked up for something he did. In layman terms, Justice can be defined as "an eye for an eye".
However, why do we still see, that in the news, some criminals who committed audacious crimes still "get away scot-free" ? The answer is simple. Mercy has been implemented. Mercy - the ultimate virtue which is defined as compassionate treatment of or attitude towards an offender. Without Mercy, I am afraid that the entire set of human morals which our ancestors have set out would not be able to make their stand in today's society.Reported in Newsweek recently, a man splashed acid on a woman in Iran, not only disfiguring her once beautiful face but also caused her to be blind. Following the Iranian law of an eye for an eye, the man would be blinded (given the same treatment as the woman has suffered).However what really impressed the world is that the woman decided not to blind the man and instead forgive the man. Although the man was spared the acid treatment, he was still locked up in prison. The divine virtue of Mercy has thus been displayed and this time, Justice was present too. Even though the man did not receive the same treatment he dealt to the woman, he was still punished, but with mercy, his sentence was lightened. Hence, in this case, Justice and Mercy can actually co-exist!
In conclusion, this example shows that justice could indeed co-exist in mercy, since justice and mercy are two independent things. As depicted in the Merchant of Venice, Portia once said, " Mercy seasons Justice". Both are needed for an ideal society, where fairness and equity governs the people alongside forgiveness and empathy. One cannot only depend on only one of the two as the duo is needed to ensure a humane and just society.
