Crime & Criminal Justice

Suddenly Papa Yosef Chayim heard a sharp knock on the door. Curious who would be visiting at such an hour, he got up and opened the door. To his shock, he found a burly robber pointing a pistol directly in his face...

Do the laws of war and international criminal justice adequately address unusual cases such as terrorists, piracy or rogue states? What is the legal basis for targeted assassination? A contrast between contemporary, secular legal thought and the Torah's j...

In the wake of the news of the killing Osama bin Laden, Rabbi Brackman looks to the Torah to answer the question, "Is it ever ethical and just to execute someone without due process of law?"

I was thirteen years old when my life with the Tanners began. It was a cold day in January in the year 1985 when I stood clutching my meager belongings on the concrete stoop of the Tanner family’s residence . . .

The critical combination of open and hidden sins.

Under America’s criminal justice system, we have incarcerated more than two million of our fellow citizens in federal, state and county facilities. In contrast, the concept of prison does not appear anywhere in Judaism...

Retribution is very un-Jewish. For retribution leaves wounds in its wake. Rehabilitation is very Jewish. For rehabilitation cures and gives new life. This elemental idea is beautifully captured in a biblical passage discussing the treatment of gossipers.

In lieu of commentary, I'd like to contrast this decision with the way Jewish law handles post-conviction exoneration...

What is motivating these people to be so utterly insensitive to the destruction they are wreaking? And why are they turning the gun on themselves? As a society, where have we gone wrong?

Does Torah want us to poke out the eye of an eye-poker?