Society's Views on Criminal Justice are Evolving

By: Donald V. Watkins

Copyrighted on August 8, 2026

Actor Raf Vallone played millionaire businessman Constantin Demeris in Sidney Sheldon's bestselling 1973 novel, "The Other Side of Midnight," and its 1977 film adaptation. Demeris said he believed in “a head for an eye and a heart for a tooth. A simple religion, but once people know that I practice it devoutly, they stay away from my eyes, and far away from my teeth."

An Editorial Opinion

The original Biblical standard of criminal justice is an “eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” This standard is enunciated in several places in the Old Testament. (See, Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20, and Deuteronomy 19:21).

During his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:38–42, Jesus quoted the ancient law of "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," but urged his followers not to resist an evil person or seek personal revenge. Instead of retaliation, he taught radical non-resistance, mercy, and love for enemies.

This is Jesus' “turn the other cheek” tenet, which I was never able to fully comprehend or practice. It’s one of the areas in my Christianity where I am clearly deficient.

As a former Special Assistant Attorney General for the state of Alabama and former criminal defense attorney who spent over four decades litigating civil and criminal cases, I know from first-hand experience just how biased, compromised, and corrupt America’s legal system really is. This is one of the reasons I exited the profession early.

Rich, powerful, and politically connected criminals can readily buy their way out of legal jeopardy for the state and federal crimes they commit, including murder, rape, child sexual abuse, and assaulting police officers. In many cases, prosecutors are often weak, lazy, and incompetent political operatives.

Today, well-funded federal criminal defendants can also buy presidential pardons for a host of crimes.

As evidenced by the Department of Justice's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein child sex trafficking case, integrity in the federal criminal justice system has completely collapsed.

Based upon these salient factors, I believe in the system of justice that was articulated by actor Raf Vallone, who played millionaire businessman Constantin Demeris in Sidney Sheldon's bestselling 1973 novel, "The Other Side of Midnight," and its 1977 film adaptation. Demeris said he believed in “a head for an eye and a heart for a tooth. A simple religion, but once people know that I practice it devoutly, they stay away from my eyes, and far away from my teeth,” I agree.

In my view, this standard of justice is not "retaliation" or "revenge" in the Biblical sense. It’s simply punishment that is administered in a way that effectively adjusts bad attitudes and minimizes a violent and abusive person's eagerness to engage in undesirable criminal behavior.