"Justice" is the eighth episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.
[edit] Overview
The episode focuses on Wesley inadvertently breaking the absolute law of an alien world. When the youth is adjudged to be deserving of the death sentence, Captain Picard has to deal with the world's powerful and mysterious protector, as well as considerations concerning violation of the Prime Directive.
On stardate 41255.6, the USS Enterprise stops at the newly discovered planet of Rubicun III for shore leave.
The native people, who call themselves the Edo, seem passive and sensual, living in a virtual utopia where they openly express love and affection. However the away team sent down to make contact are astonished by the Edo legal system which has only one punishment for lawbreakers: death.
Immediately after this the away team learn that Wesley Crusher has been sentenced to death for running into a bed of flowers during a game. The Edo regret the consequences for Wesley but explain that their society was once violent and chaotic and that their new gentler society depends on the inviolability of their draconian laws.
In orbit Enterprise discovers a powerful immaterial alien force that acts in a god-like capacity toward the planet's inhabitants. The "gods" prevent the Enterprise's attempt to rescue Wesley by blocking a transporter beam until convinced by a speech from Picard and Riker that true justice is impossible without exceptions.
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