Forgiveness Work: Mercy, Law, and Victims' Rights in Iran

A remarkable look at an understudied feature of the Iranian justice system, where forgiveness is as much a right of victims as retribution

Iran’s criminal courts are notorious for meting out severe sentences—according to Amnesty International, the country has the world’s highest rate of capital punishment per capita. Less known to outside observers, however, is the Iranian criminal code’s recognition of forgiveness, where victims of violent crimes, or the families of murder victims, can requ...