[alangpierce]

Hammurabi's code probably isn't a great example when looking for precedent on appropriate punishment. Another example from your link is 210: "if a man kills a pregnant woman, the punishment is that the man's daughter shall be killed".

[Rooster61]

I think you are deliberately emphasizing part of the op's post that wasn't meant to be the main point.

They weren't commenting on the severity of the punishment, but rather showing an example of a very old case where similar scrutiny was placed on poor workmanship making the builder culpable to negligence and the ensuing fallout of that negligence.

From HN guidelines: Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith.

[alangpierce]

Sorry, I wasn't meaning to dismiss the point wholesale, just saying to be cautious of an "appeal to authority"/"appeal to precedent" sort of argument, especially in this case. I do think the severity was at least part of pjmorris's point, and they called it out in their response to me.

[zaroth]

It’s not actually an appeal to authority. It’s stating the long historical precedent of building codes, and that there is a criminal component to knowingly violating a building code which leads to the death of an occupant.

[pjmorris]

My main point here was that severe, even terminal, retribution is neither new, nor unique to United States culture, addressing the GP's query.

[ryanlol]

>nor unique to United States culture

In 2020 the US is the only western country with the death penalty.

I’m sure everyone is aware that most countries used to have very severe punishments, but that’s not the case today.

[pjmorris]

You've got a great point here. I've heard, and need to look in to it more, that most countries have a 'restorative' justice system, while the US has a 'retributive' justice system.