Vigilante justice
Published by MadMan November 29th, 2004 in LawFark.com is full of weird headlines and even whackier “discussions”, but once in a while something thought-provoking does indeed make an appearance. An example is this story from UK. Short version: Son finds out from mother that she was raped by their neighbour a week earlier. Son goes to confront rapist neighbour, who allegedly says “it was just a bit of fun”. Son thwacks him with a cricket bat on the head. Alleged rapist falls down and dies from the fall. Son goes to jail for manslaughter.
What is interesting about the Fark discussion is the overwhelming number of “give the kid a medal” posts. The emotional appeal of vigilante justice, especially for heinous crimes like rape, is very strong indeed. The majority of posters believe “he had it coming”.
Perhaps only 5 people on the site have actually set their emotions aside and examined the case from a legal perspective. Also important in this is the media coverage of the case. Often, what we think are “facts” aren’t so.
What are your thoughts?
I’m no fan of a lack-of-order vigilantism, but I’m an even lesser fan of an overwhelming emasculation of society.
And a society needs to fear emasculation as much as (or maybe even more than) it needs to fear a lack of order from vigilantism; for the former is a principle driver of progress and innovation. In this particular case, I’d favor making the boy do community service or some such light sentence as opposed to a felony conviction of manslaughter.
But of course!
It is wrong to let emotion cloud your ability to see the facts of the case, but it is unavoidable when passing judgement or determining mitigating factors.
Assuming that the facts of the case are not in doubt, i.e. things happened exactly as reported, then if I were a juror, I’d make sure that he got the lowest possible sentence. What’s wrong with that?
I countldn’t access the story’s link.
What would be interesting to know is whether the kid hit with the intent to kill. If he did, he deserves a fitting sentence for his age.
If he didn’t have the intent of killing the man, I guess a lesser punishment could be given.
The point here is not whther he intended to kill or just maime the other guy. Obviously he wanted to hurt the guy, wouldn’t you? Especially when the victim(If you can call him one) thought his act of rape was “FUN”.
The law acts unemotionally, it examined the circumstance as a man who killed someone out of anger. But if you analyze the circumstance of the case, the man was responsible for a “RAPE” of a close kin! It is bound to incite violent feelings, and besides the guy died because of the fall and not from the “BLOW”.
In any society a law has to take its course hence the man had to be punished, but definitely to a sentence lighter than one for manslaughter.
On a parting note, its much easier to sit here and comment on such a case….
The rapist got what he deserved, death. I see two points I will comment on. The unfortunate part is that it involved the criminalization of the deliverer of the due justice. And second that it was evidently a fairly quick death. I agree, that we can’t have people out there, delivering justice Helter Skelter, with no regard for the legal profession or the courts. Think, if this gets out of hand, soon there will be no fees paid. Judges and lawyers will have to give up their tee times and Mercedes and Jaguars. There would be no need to pass out the circulars identifing sex offenders in your area. Then there would be no need to build more jails, and prisons, and spend thousands of dollars a year providing meals and health care for the criminals. Which in most cases is more than their victims ever had. Now true, occassionally there will be errors, and an innocent person will be accidently vigilanty’d. Thank God this never happens in our legal system, only the truly guilty are punished. Give the guy a job as a police officer. Let him serve his community time helping bring law and order to an insane world. How many criminals would like to know the guys carrying the guns in the name of law and order are experienced in dispensing justice and have proven it with a cricket bat. I think it might even the playing field, to use a sport analogy.
Batter -up!
I would PAY to see the torture and death of violent criminals!
Put it on TV and show future punks what they will get!
We have no serious law in this land. Laws are designed to protect the criminals. Not sure how it ever got this way…
You do the crime and are proven guilty, the lets open up your bellies and drop a pound of dog grap in there and sew you backup.
Throw them in a cell and let em fester and die in wretched agony….just like their poor victims..
I am SICK of this passive society. I am SICK of paying to feed some criminal and get no retun on my investment. Feed someone for 3 life senetences…..thats stupid. Save the prison cell and the food costs and hang them…slowly of course, 2 inches off the ground!
You can snap a lot of necks for the price of one rope.
You cant rehabilitate a sex offender. Liquify them and spray them on our fields for fertilizer. It would be the best contribution those peices of shit ever gave society.
Eye for an eye, BABY!
r u making a joke about the justice system?
most prisoners r on vacation in prison