Term 3 Week 6: Justice and Mercy

I believe that Justice and Mercy can co-exist together as they are mutually exclusive.
To uphold Justice, the court has to abide to the law and prosecute offenders equally regardless of status, race or religion. However, there are other factors that constitute to the severity of a punishment, such as past achievements. Evidently, Justice can exist in the presence of other factors as it is unaffected if these other factors come from external sources.
Mercy is exactly a factor that can cause the punishment of multiple offenders to deviate according to the will of the victim. When the victim determines that the criminal can be forgiven, the court respects his decision and will change the punishment accordingly.
From many past cases, forgiveness will help a criminal in turning over a new leaf, and might even be for the greater good. On the other hand, there will be criminals who abuse this merciful act to relieve themselves from many years in prison, only coming out to become fiends of society, bringing more harm than good.
In my opinion, Justice and Mercy can undoubtedly co-exist, but should be determined based on situation.