EXOD599 The initial question that must be asked of any criminal justice system is: "What gives us the right to punish?" After all, in the early biblical stories, it is God who metes out punishment. God expels Adam and Eve; God curses Cain (Gen 4:10-11). One could argue that God acts as a model for the authority in any society; what God can do, so can the controlling powers of a community. But Judaism does not rely on the power model for justice. Rather, justice derives from covenant--the social contract individuals have with God and with each other. Thus, the key laws governing the criminal justice system are set forth in Exodus and Deuteronomy after Jews have become a people. They are no longer governed by the laws of a foreign ruler. They must have laws by which they can govern themselves. There were many models of criminal justice they could have chosen. Some were as simple as allowing victims' families to avenge the blood of their loved ones. But that is not a criminal justice system; that is human behavior and emotions unchecked by society or legal system, barely distinguishable from the way animals react when one of their own is injured. Judaism seeks to elevate a criminal justice system. It is not reactive; it is proactive. The goal is to control aberrant behavior and provide a society where accountability is based on reason and moral imperatives, not just emotional reaction. The right to punish derives from the natural right of members of the community to protect their community. Retribution (driving from "retribuo" -- Latin for "I pay back") authorizes punishment as a way to repair the harm an individual has caused, not just to another individual, but to society by undermining its laws. Because an individual has accountability for his actions, he is obliged to acknowledge transgressions and, to the extent possible, repair the damages caused not only to the direct victims of his actions but also to the moral fabric of society. It is, of course, a separate matter to define what kind of punishment will serve these goals. The famous lex talionis, "eye for eye, tooth for tooth," [this verse], encapsulates Judaism's approach to punishment. Punishment should be in direct response and proportional to the harm caused. While the rabbis later converted this biblical demand into a system of monetary compensation [M. Bava Kamma 8:1], the principle remains the same. (By Laurie L. Levenson, "Judaism and CriminalJustice"