Mercy

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For other uses, see Mercy (disambiguation).

Image:Pierre Montallier 001.jpg Mercy can refer both to compassionate behaviour on the part of those in power (e.g. mercy shown by a judge toward a convict) or on the part of a humanitarian third party (e.g. a mission of mercy aiming to treat war victims). Mercy is a term used to describe the leniency or compassion shown by one person to another, or a request from one person to another to be shown such leniency or compassion. One of the basic virtues of chivalry and Christian ethics, it is also related to concepts of justice and morality in behaviour between people. In India, compassion is known as karuna.

In a legal sense, a defendant having been found guilty of a capital crime may ask for clemency from being executed. (A famous literary example is from The Merchant of Venice when Portia asks Shylock to show mercy. The quality of mercy is not strained, she tells him.)

The reverse situation applies in the case of euthanasia (mercy killing).

A number of organisations (e.g. the Mercy Corps, the Sisters of Mercy and the Temple of Mercy and Charity) use the word 'mercy' in their name to describe their work.de:Barmherzigkeit fr:Clémence he:רחמים nl:Genade pl:Miłosierdzie sv:Barmhärtighet