Is there ever a time to take the law into your own hands?

costadeldole

Is there ever a time to take the law into your own hands?
Recently my cousins wife bumped into a man that had sexually abused her as a child. The abuser had moved back to the area where she lived.
The abuser was well known to my cousin (although he didn't know what he had done). When she confessed what he had done to her, my cousin paid him a visit and exacted punishment. He was the judge and the jury that day.
After the punishment, he gave the man 24 hours to leave their city, never to return again.
The abuser duly obliged, and my cousin and his wife moved on with their lives as best they could.
My cousin had initially told his wife to go to the Police and report the abuser, but she refused; and so he elected to take the law into his own hands. He was ready to do the jail time required if necessary.
Personally I would have done the same, had I been in the same situation. Sometimes the law just can't deliver justice; and a man has to exact his own.

0byme75341jo28

No.

BorneTobyWilde

So he basically got away with it and will continue to abuse others. Done him a favor if anything.

whupdedo

Yes

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy

http://m.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-25185400

Ask one of those guys. They're serving 40 years between them in prison for taking the law into their own hands.

Links234

Only if you're Batman

Macavity.

Ideally police would have been informed, but I realise it is not always that easy. This punishment that was "exacted" really was a waste of time though.

downonthefarm

Darn tootin there is.
Where I'm from the filf are the last ones you call.

BorneTobyWilde

Links234 wrote: »

Only if you're Batman

He used a bat, does that count ?

ScumLord

Links234 wrote: »

Only if you're Batman

The batman defence. "your honor, at the time my client believed he was batman, so his heart was in the right place and he looked pretty cool when he murdered those people".

DeadHand

costadeldole wrote: »

Sometimes the law just can't deliver justice

Yes... When it isn't given a chance to, for example.

Birneybau

If the law is to wind your own watch then, yes.

FloatingVoter

How do you know my nickname for little Float is "The Law" ?
In answer to the question, generally anytime after dawn is good for me.

Tail Docker

DeadHand wrote: »

Yes... When it isn't given a chance to, for example.

Hmm. A chap attempted to abduct a child in a town near me. Gardai were informed, but they couldn't find him, as he had fled. That and the whole "didn't really try too hard either" thing. Happily, I found him.

I, erm, "detained" him and rang the gards to come get him. They informed me that if I didn't let him go immediately, I'd be charged with falsely imprisoning him. So I let him go.

The Gardai were a great help and took the whole investigation massively seriously. Not. BTW, the child was my daughter. Afterwards, a Gard called round and reasuured me that the paedo would not be back this way again -as they had "warned him off" - with a straight face. Soo, the problem was moved on, not dealt with. Which was apparently grand. I should have "let him go" a bit higher up, tbh.

Birneybau

FloatingVoter wrote: »

How do you know my nickname for little Float is "The Law" ?
In answer to the question, generally anytime after dawn is good for me.

Well, more like 'petty crime', or so I've heard...

FloatingVoter

Birneybau wrote: »

Well, more like 'petty crime', or so I've heard...

....I was having an off night and your mother gave me my money back.

Tokyo

costadeldole wrote: »

Is there ever a time to take the law into your own hands?

In my opinion, yes.

In theory, sure, everyone deserves a second chance, a chance at rehabilitation and whatnot, but in reality there are truly evil people out there that just don't deserve to be a part of this world, in any shape or form. Should any of those people cross paths with my family or others I care about, then yes, as far as I'm concerned there would be no holds barred.

osarusan

mike_ie wrote: »

Should any of those people cross paths with my family or others I care about, then yes, as far as I'm concerned there would be no holds barred.

If you are talking about self-defence, that's not really taking the law into your own hands though.

Tokyo

osarusan wrote: »

If you are talking about self-defence, that's not really taking the law into your own hands though.

Depending on the circumstances, I'd also include after the fact.

Kevin McCloud

Would shooting a burglar in your own home be a definition as taking the law into your own hands?

Irishcrx

Yes , there are times when taking the law into your own hands is the only way of dealing with something or protecting yourself but there are consequences to that , like anything.

With the OP story , there's a 50/50 chance that the person in question actually commited the crime, there was no evidence that he had done so, for all your cousin knows he got the wrong man or his other half was lying.

How do I or anyone on here not know that there is some psycho ex girlfriend or someone from the past we didn't get on with who would tell people thing's like that even though they never happened , que being branded guilty without proof and beaten around with a baseball bat.

Sounds far fetched but this kind of thing happens all the time, that's why we have laws and a justice system.

DoYouEvenLift

Kevin McCloud wrote: »

Would shooting a burglar in your own home be a definition as taking the law into your own hands?

No, that would be self defence. Or at least it should be. Actually I'm unaware on the laws for this, reminds me of the time the farmer was trialled for killing the traveller who tried to rob his place. Am I right in saying you can shoot them but just not if they're unarmed and turned away from you?

Grayson

Kevin McCloud wrote: »

Would shooting a burglar in your own home be a definition as taking the law into your own hands?

Depends on if he was shooting at you. If you had him on his knees with his hands tied, I'd say it was probably wrong

I think what the OP means by taking the law into your own hands is doing something when you could go to the guards. One of those, life or death, in the moment things don't really count.

Professey Chin

ScumLord wrote: »

The batman defence. "your honor, at the time my client believed he was batman, so his heart was in the right place and he looked pretty cool when he murdered those people".

Wouldnt happen. Batman doesnt murder :pac:

Grayson

DoYouEvenLift wrote: »

No, that would be self defence. Or at least it should be. Actually I'm unaware on the laws for this, reminds me of the time the farmer was trialled for killing the traveller who tried to rob his place. Am I right in saying you can shoot them but just not if they're unarmed and turned away from you?

I think you have to be in danger. Shooting an unarmed person who's legging it doesn't really count as danger

AudreyHepburn

I'm not a fan of vigilante justice because where do you draw the line? You decide it's ok in one or two situations and before you know people are taking the law into their own hands for every little thing. It's unreasonable and unworkable imo.

ScumLord

Professey Chin wrote: »

Wouldnt happen. Batman doesnt murder :pac:

Your honor, my expert witness professey chin states that batman doesn't murder, my client believed he was batman at the time, therefore he couldn't have murdered those people. Sometimes CCTV can be wrong.

valoren

Can you swing a sack of doorknobs OP?

SEPT 23 1989

If somebody abused my children i would not get the law involved

cloud493

ScumLord wrote: »

Your honor, my expert witness professey chin states that batman doesn't murder, my client believed he was batman at the time, therefore he couldn't have murdered those people. Sometimes CCTV can be wrong.

Well he threw the people off the building. How was he to know that would cause their death?

Links234

valoren wrote: »

Can you swing a sack of doorknobs OP?

Here's a sack, but you have to supply your own doorknobs

Fuhrer

I remember hearing a story of some farmer putting poison out to kill dogs that people were walking on his land.

Someone killing your dog, if you went to the law the most they would get would be a fine.

Id definitely take the law into my own hands to enact some appropriate retribution.

rob316

Generally I would always get the law involved in a crime against me or my loved ones but when it comes to sexual abuse or rape against my child, wife or other family member I know for 100% I wouldn't be able to control myself.

I believe it to be the worst crime of all and they should get equally as bad a punishment. You get the law involved he will get a slap on the wrist jail sentence, do some bull**** program to control his urges and at the end of the day he is going to do it all again and ruin some other child's life. These type of people are sick, the lowest of the low, they cant help themselves.

Bigger or smaller than me I would destroy someone that did something like this.

mikemac1

Fuhrer wrote: »

I remember hearing a story of some farmer putting poison out to kill dogs that people were walking on his land.

Someone killing your dog, if you went to the law the most they would get would be a fine.

Id definitely take the law into my own hands to enact some appropriate retribution.

Turn it around. Maybe the farmer was sick of loose dogs chasing his stock and causing abortions. And even if they were on a lead and under control that's going to worry the stock.

Do you let people & dogs wander around your property too?

Fuhrer

mikemac1 wrote: »

Turn it around. Maybe the farmer was sick of loose dogs chasing his stock and causing abortions. And even if they were on a lead and under control that's going to worry the stock.

Do you let people & dogs wander around your property too?

He grew cabbages

mikemac1

Still his land. If people are trespassing they shouldn't be there

People who shoot on land get permission to do it. I doubt all these walkers looked for permission. Maybe I'm wrong and they all did

Fuhrer

mikemac1 wrote: »

Still his land. If people are trespassing they shouldn't be there

And hes taking the law into his own hands, cant complain when someone does it to him for revenge.

Caliden

We need more people like : 'Luggs' Branigan - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Christopher_Branigan

Gardai like him used to be common place in rural villages where everyone knew everyone and the necessary justice would be handed out by the local Garda sergeant.
Personally, I think it's the reason why crime in rural areas has increased as Gardai can no longer give a robbin' scrote a slap around the head for fear of being prosecuted and losing their job.


I'm all for street justice so long as warranted (for lack of a better word in this case).

Fuhrer wrote: »

And hes taking the law into his own hands, cant complain when someone does it to him for revenge.

Well if you want to get technical, they're trespassing. You can't just start walking through other people's fields. If anything happened he could be liable for injuries.

DeadHand

Fuhrer wrote: »

I remember hearing a story of some farmer putting poison out to kill dogs that people were walking on his land.

You have no business bringing dogs onto someone else's land without their expressed permission.

If said dogs were harassing his livestock he was perfectly justified in taking measures to destroy them.

mikemac1

Fuhrer wrote: »

And hes taking the law into his own hands, cant complain when someone does it to him for revenge.

I want to take a stroll around your land

Even if it's a tiny lawn I don't mind. Also I'm not going to ask your permission, just give me your address :P

Fuhrer

mikemac1 wrote: »

I want to take a stroll around your land

Even if it's a tiny lawn I don't mind. Also I'm not going to ask your permission, just give me your address :P

Sure, just let me put out some claymore mines to murder you with first, as you say thats a perfectly justifiable action

caustic 1

If anyone threatened my kids, yes, I would do harm.

mikemac1

It's illegal to poison some animals such as birds of prey.

Nothing illegal about laying out poison if it's for vermin, rabbits, foxes and some other exceptions. Cabbage you say, so dogs are going into a cabbage field and eating poison meant for rabbits

So there'd be no fine anyway

Viper_JB

cloud493 wrote: »

Well he threw the people off the building. How was he to know that would cause their death?

It was gravity that killed them, not batman , damn gravity!

OldNotWIse

1. I don't believe the story
2. No

Fuhrer

OldNotWIse wrote: »

1. I don't believe the story
2. No

now that I think about it, im pretty sure I heard it in a movie actually. Charlie Wilsons war

Caliden

Fuhrer wrote: »

Sure, just let me put out some claymore mines to murder you with first, as you say thats a perfectly justifiable action

Well realistically if you put out small traps intended for rabbits, etc. and I got injured who would the fault lie with?

Gannicus

Yes definitely, If anyone sexually assaulted or murdered a member of my family then they would not live to see the next sunrise for petty crimes I don't think I would be as extreme..

One example where it worked in my estate is. About 7 or 8 years ago a young fella (he was 16 or 17 at the time) that lived near my estate caught a right hiding. He threw a beer bottle at an elderly lady (about 70) one night as she wouldn't go in the off licence and get him and his 3 mates more beers. He got her in the back and put her to the ground glass bottle broke around her. We grabbed them and called the gardai. He got a Junior Liasion officer as he was tried as a minor.... nothing else even though he was a known nuisance in the area.

I heard a couple weeks later he was grabbed by someone who knew the elderly woman and he was taken in a van and left down a local park in his undies with 7 shades of ****e knocked out of him and was told him and his mates they best behave. His parents called the garda then for what happened but sure nobody knew who did it nor do most of us care. Hell the gardai came looking for a statement off me as we were the ones who held him for the gards in case we were involved.

And since that day he and his buddies has bot been an ounce of trouble in the area.

OldNotWIse

I'm reminded of the time a paediatrician was beaten up by an angry (and might I add, stupid) mob....

DeadHand

Fuhrer wrote: »

Sure, just let me put out some claymore mines to murder you with first, as you say thats a perfectly justifiable action

Bit of a gulf between putting out poison for animals and mines for people.

If he put the poison out secretly, without warning and without seeking help from the Gardai then it was a miserable thing to do.

If he asked the people walking the dogs without permission to stay away to no avail, warned them he would take measures and was ignored and, finally, sought help from the Gardai to no avail then he would be justified in killing the animals.

ScumLord

cloud493 wrote: »

Well he threw the people off the building. How was he to know that would cause their death?

In fact he was trying to save the victim. The victim, a mister Kelly told my client "I believe I can fly". In the world of batman this is not something unlikely. My client was simply trying to save mr Kelly from an attack by the penguin (which later turned out to be a waiter) by launching Mr kelly to speed up his take off. It was mr Kelly that dragged the rest of the people down with him as he went over the edge.