I simply cannot accept...

the hanging of Yakub Memon. I know with my head that the cards were all stacked against him. I have tried to see it from the points of view and arguments of various people - eminent and the not-so-eminent - as reported in the papers and heard on TV. The picture that emerges is at best a shady mosaic. So how can we say that something that does not have clear contours is a hundred percent correct? I believe with all of my being that for closure to happen there has to be compassion in the heart. I'm not saying exonerate the person who has caused this grievous hurt - am wondering if a punishment like hanging, which is such a violent act, can really heal a heart that has been wounded by an act of senseless violence? Added to this are the cries of those who have not received the same 'closure' on account of the numerous other violent hate-filled incidents. How can we say one kind of mass-killing is worse than another? How can we say that the reasons behind one kind of mass-killing are more justifiable than the reasons behind other mass killings? Is the grief of one set of people whose loved ones have been lost in mass killing greater than the grief of another set of people who have also lost their loved ones in a similar manner? If many people were involved in a mass killing, and only one was caught, then will hanging only this one person be enough for this closure?