Is Vigilante Justice Wrong?

Is Vigilante Justice Wrong?

Is vigilante justice wrong?  Is taking justice into your own hands the right thing to do? If you watch movies you will typically only see vigilantes placed in a good light.  Batman, Kick Ass and Dexter are all placed in a good light, a justified light.

Vigilante justice is when someone take the law into their own hands.  It’s usually done in a violent manner when it happens. There is no fair trial for the accused.  Justice is decided by either a person or a group of individuals.  You will see that vigilante justice can come in many forms. Sometimes it can come in the form of beatings or death.  Many times vigilantes go far beyond justice or what is considered the appropriate response for a crime or a wrong doing.

Examples of Vigilante Justice

Vigilante Justice in Egypt

I remember reading about how two men were accused of stealing a rickshaw in Egypt.  An angry vigilante mob caught the men, beat them and then hung them.  Leaders in the area justified their actions by saying there had been many rapes of school age girls that had happened and the police were not enforcing the law in the area.   So with this form of vigilante justice you would have to ask yourself as to whether the punishment fit the crime.  Cars are stolen all the time in the United States however people are not put to death when caught.  So even though justice needed to be served, what this form of vigilante justice justified?  I would say no but you may have a different response.

Vigilante Justice with the Bald Knobbers

Vigilante groups in the 1800’s like the Bald Knobbers took vigilant justice to the extreme when attempting to go far beyond holding those that committed a crime to be accountable for their actions.  The Bald Knobbers were correcting any behavior deemed inappropriate.  At one point vigilante justice included disciplining  anyone that disrupted a church service and whipping those who voted in opposition  of the vigilante group.

Common sense would say that a vigilante group that enforced justice to sway voters in voting for something specifically would be wrong.

A more recent example of Vigilate Justice is when Bernhard Goetz takes matters into his own hands in a New York subway train. Mr. Goetz was no stranger to having run-ins with criminals and watching justice not be served (at least what he deemed justice).  Then one night several teenagers approached Goetz and eventually demanded money from him.  Goetz ended up shooting each teenager in retaliation.  One teenager was paralyzed and another end up committing suicide many years later.

Bernhard Geotz – A Vigilante Hero

Goetz was labeled a hero during that time period for standing up to teenage criminals within the city.  Yet it begs the question as to whether the punishment fit the crime.    Could there have been a better way to deal with the situation without shooting the teenagers.  Would merely showing the weapon  scare the teens from attempting to rob the man?  We will never know as Goetz had likely been waiting for that moment to happen for a very long time.

Vigilantism can be taken to extremes in many cases that go beyond the intention of the original vigilante movement.  Killing a man for stealing is surely an extreme in this day and age and doesn’t really fit the crime.

Another interesting example of vigilante justice that might have been premature is when Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated President John F. Kennedy.  Everyone hated the Oswald for killing the president, especially Jack Ruby.  And when Oswald was being sent to the County Jail, Jack ruby shot and killed him.  Oswald would never see the court system, and authorities would never find out who conspired with Oswald to kill the president.   Did Oswald probably deserve what he got?  I believe he did. But because of vigilante justice anyone else involved has basically got off scot free.

Many believe vigilante justice as being a situation where someone who is guilty finds a loop hole in the justice system and is not found guilty of a crime they clearly committed. Then a individual takes the law in to their own hand to make sure the criminal pays for the crime the committed.  So if the criminal is severely hurt or dies, it will be considered the proper punishment for the crime and no one would bat an eye.

A Good Example of Vigilante Justice

As you probably know, many law enforcement officers and government officials are corrupt in Mexico.  To correct this situation vigilante groups will enter towns to bring back order.  These are large scale operations and relatively organized.  These vigilante groups aren’t looking for power but rather to bring order to a specific location.

This is the type of vigilantism that I wouldn’t mind seeing more of in places that are without order and safety.  Once an area regains order the vigilante group would leave and not try to control the community in a negative way.

It is my hope that you have come to a decision as to whether vigilante justice is good or not.  Different vigilante situations can result in very different outcomes.