In some parts of the Balkans, families still live by a centuries-old law called "the Canon," which recognizes the right to vengeance-if a man from one family kills another, the family of the victim must respond in kind. This "debt" is usually executed by the eldest male member of the family. It is his duty to avenge his loved one-if he refuses, he declared a coward and renounced by his family. From East Montenegro-where some families have experienced four cycles of vengeance-to the north of Albania, some children never leave their homes in fear of being killed. Families of murder victims, disappointed by the corruption of the official justice system, have taken judgment and punishment into their own hands.