The Code of Hammurabi

Today in class we had a discussion about The Code of Hammurabi.  The major points we talked about during the discussion were why was it made, was it a effective idea, and how does the code connect to modern day human right laws.  Before the Hammurabi Code, fugitives if caught would be brought to justice and not usually get a fair trial.  Crime rates were higher up because punishments weren't known to the actions being done.  The reason why it was created was to have not only a more organized punishment system, but also to create a fear to the Babylonian civilization in order to seize power and peace.  It was an effective idea because not only did they list punishments, but insurance that if something happened to an innocent moral person, the government/power would provide them with benefits.  So not only did it show people that doing something bad like killing someone, stealing, or lying would get you in serious trouble (usually death) and staying true and moral would get you benefits when in your time of need.  The code that really interested me was #24, where it states, "If a life was lost, the city and governor shall pay one mina of silver to his people."  In modern times the silver mina would equal $110.10 in US dollars.  Its interesting that for every death, the family would get 100 dollars for the loss and it creates a connection between the everyday people and the city and governor.  One of my only main flaws with the code is that it doesn't list any codes if someone within the government or power does wrong, which makes the social class fall in favor for the high class.  I think that this is not like modern human rights laws because Hammurabi's code is too in detail in most of the codes.  Also, modern day rights label every single social class, race, and gender as having the same rights.  I think that overall Hammurabi's code would cause a rebellion especially in modern times