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The Laws of Hammurabi's Code

 

            If today's civilization was ran by Hammurabi's Code, society would be more inclined to follow the laws and rules set by the government due to the strict, straight forward, and fast acting polices of Hammurabi's Code. In today's society, people who commit a crime, and are convicted of the crime, are often times released of harsher punishments due to many factors such as the crime case not having enough evidence, or the suspect has a good lawyer. In Also, Hammurabi's Code puts a large emphasis on family; something that is not nearly as important in all of today's society as it was seem it was in the Sumerian civilization. .
             Rules and laws are written out in plain terms, however, many times, crimes go unpunished, pleas are given out, or bails are set and paid; letting criminals go back into everyday life almost scot-free. In Sumerian civilization, there wasn't any judiciary system, judges or lawyers, only Hammurabi's Code. Hammurabi's Code had very few, if any, loop holes when one had committed a crime. For example, for the law now known as kid-napping, Hammurabi's Code states, "If a man has stolen a child, he shall be put to death" (Hammurabi 8). This law of Hammurabi's is harsh yet clear and easy to understand; like many other of his laws. Unlike today's society, if a man were to kidnap a child, he may be able to plead his case and not get as harsh of a punishment that the law states. Today's civilization and citizens would be a lot more law abiding than it is now due to how harsh and clear Hammurabi's Code was. Hammurabi had clear punishments and often times, payments for broken law. One example of this is, "If a patrician has stolen ox, sheep, ass, pig, or sheep, whether from a temple, or a house, he shall pay thirtyfold. If he be a plebian, he shall return tenfold. If the thief cannot pay, he shall be put to death" (8). If this law were to be implemented into today's civilization, although this may seem harsh in today's world, laws would be followed a lot more closely due to the harsh punishments and strict consequences to the laws being broken.


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