Criminal,
Constitutional Law
Jul. 21, 2020
The last whiplash of the Balrog
J.R.R. Tolkien is a master storyteller, and he sets up the moment when the Balrog’s whip ensnares Gandalf as poignantly tragic — a sudden, unnecessary reminder that, even at its demise, the archaic still has bite. This is how last week felt when the federal government carried out three executions after a 17-year pause on capital punishment.
Hadar Aviram
Professor
UC Hastings College of the Law
200 McAllister St
San Francisco , CA 94102-4978
Phone: (415) 581-8890
Fax: (415) 565-4685
Email: aviramh@uchastings.edu
Hebrew Univ, Jerusalem
Hadar is author of "Yesterday's Monsters: The Manson Family Cases and the Illusion of Parole" (University of California Press, 2020).
In J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings," the Balrog is an ancient monster, a relic from times past, who lurks beneath the surface. When the Fellowship of the Ring crosses the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, they provoke the Balrog, who angrily attacks them. Gandalf, the wizard, successfully fights the monster, but at the very last minute, as the Balrog plunges to its death, it flings its whip one last time, capturing Gandalf and dragging him along into the abyss.
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