it, the prophet having faid, “ Man is the chofen veffel o fG od ;— ac-
“ curjed is he who dejiroyeth the fame —and as this fecurity is obtained
by putting the murderer to death, retaliation alone is therefore
fufficient, and confequentlyno fine is required.
Retaliation is W hen a perfon who had incurred retaliation dies, the right to
done away by . 1 - . - .
the death of retaliation neceflarilj ceaies*, as the m b je£ t of it no longer remains.
the murderer.
Two men If two men cut off the hand of one man, by both feizing a knife
maini^ third and applying it to the joint, until the hand be feparated, retaliation
are not liable js not to on either of them, but they are refponfible for
one half of the fine of blood ; becaufe the mulft for a hand is half the
fine for the perfon; and as they united in depriving the man o f his
hand, the half o f the fine of blood therefore falls upon each.— Shaft
maintains that the offenders are each to be deprived of a hand; Becaufe
the hand is a dependant of the perfon; and as, i f two men kill
one, retaliation is executed upon both, fo in the fame manner, in the
cafe o f a hand, as it is a dependant o f the perfon, retaliation is executed
upon both the offenders.— Befides, retaliation, whether for the
perfon, or for parts of the body, has been ordained for the purpofe of
determent.— Hence, whatever is eftablifhed with refpect to the perfon
for the purpofe of determent, is likewife eftablifhed. with refpeft
to the parts of the body for the fame purpofe ; and as, in cafes concerning
the perfon [life,] retaliation Is inflifted upon both the murderers
where two men murder a third, fo likewife, in a cafe of df-
memb'erment, retaliation is inflidted upon both.— The arguments of
our dodtors upon this point are twofold. F ir st , each of the offenders,
refpedtively, has cut off a part of the hand, inafmuch as the amputation
has been effected by both, and the fubjedt is capable of par-
* Confequently, no fine is due, either from the murderer’s eftate, or from his Akilas.
tition.
tition.— A part of the amputation is therefore referred to one o f the
offenders, and a part to the other; and as there is no equality between
the amputation o f a part of the hand, and the amputation of
the whole, there cannot, confequently, be any retaliation. It is
otherwife in cafes affedting the perfon [life,] as the adt of difpatching
the foul from the body is incapable of partition. Secondly, in a
murder committed by feveral perfons, (that is, where a number
unite in murdering one,) it is mofl probable that no one will come
to the affiftance of the murdered; whereas, in the cafe o f two perfons
uniting to cut off the hand of a third, as there is neceffarily a
■ confiderable delay in the execution, it is moft probable that the per-
j fon they defign to injure may obtain affiftance before they effedt their
purpofe.— Hence between the cafe in queftion and a cafe affecting
| the perfon there is no analogy.
I f a man ftrike off the right hands o f two others, or the le f t
hands o f two, and both appear againft him, the right hand of the
offender is cut off in the former inftance, or his left hand in the lat-
i ter,— and a moiety of the fine of blood is moreover exacted from him,
| and divided equally between the parties and this whether the
hands were ftruck off, both at the fame time, or one after the other.
— Shafei maintains that in the latter inftance, the hand o f the offender
is ftruck off folely on behalf o f him who was firft deprived of his
hand; and that where both hands were ftruck off together, the parties
draw lots, and the retaliation is then executed on behalf of him
to whofe lot it falls.— T h e argument of our doctors is that, as the
difmembered parties are upon an equality with refpedt to the ground
of their claim, (each having loft a hand,) they are therefore upon an
equal footing with refpect to the effetl alfo, namely-, the retaliation,
— in the fame manner as two creditors are upon an equal footing in
their claims upon the eftate o f a deceafed perfon, notwithftand-
V ol. IV . R r
A perfon
maiming tnv§
others is liable
both to
retaliation
and fine;—
ing