think of it this way. there is a murderer, convicted to the death sentence, but is let off due to the mercy of the judge. instead, after being slapped with a fine and a few weeks in a cell, he escapes scott free, will this then, be justice, even though it is mercy.
the obvious answer is no, while there is one, there cannot be another, and the reverse argument cannot hold either. as stated above, while one is practised the other has to be forgone. simple because of the difference in the definitions. justice is going by the book of law, while mercy is steering away from what that book says and being more lenient.
but there are conditions where the two can indeed co-exist, but these situations are both rare and when it happens there is still conflict.
one way would be that the victim spares the guilty party on his/her own accord. if this is done, the victim would not see it as an act of injustice as the person spared the guilty on his own accord, thus bending the definition of justice as no one seems to be at a point of injustice as it is a totally mutual agreement between them.
another case is in fact, the degree of mercy shown in the case itself. lets go back to the case first mentioned, the murderer and the victim. of course, it would sound atrocious to to slap him with a fine and a short jail term. but what if he was given the life sentence, would things then be different. definitely.
think about it, the murderer was able to escape with his life, he should feel glad, the victim has seen the justice administered, and the convic has gotten his just deserts
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