Let's get some Hammurabi

Reading about the Queensland government’s move to expand its “adult crime, adult time” laws, laws which would subject juvenile offenders to harsher penalties for 20 serious offences, including murder, manslaughter, rape, and torture, brought Hammurabi’s Code to mind.

This ancient legal system, known for its "eye for an eye" ethos, is often cited as a symbol of retributive justice. But more deeply, it was a code rooted in personal accountability. Those who caused harm were held directly responsible, and those in power were not exempt from consequence.

This principle seems utterly lost on today’s human rights advocates, some of whom have criticized Queensland’s reforms. According to Rachana Rajan, Associate Legal Director at the Human Rights Law Centre:

Children deserve care, not cages, and no child should grow up in a prison cell,

The Queensland government's approach to youth justice is harmful, discriminatory and unjustifiable.

Premier Crisafulli is condemning kids as young as 10, most of them First Nations children and children with disabilities, to irreversible harm and an incredibly bleak future behind bars.

But what about the irreversible harm done to the victims of the very crimes these laws address? To those murdered, raped, or brutalized? That harm is not theoretical. It is permanent, life-shattering, and often completely overlooked in such statements.