The Inexcusable Vigilante Justice | Teen Ink

The Inexcusable Vigilante Justice

June 2, 2015
By Chris Garcia BRONZE, Suffern, New York
Chris Garcia BRONZE, Suffern, New York
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Dear William J. Bratton,

The United States legal system is one that we, the people, have followed and modify frequently. Without it, we wouldn’t have the same U.S we have today. Fortunately, we have great law enforcers which we need and are more than fortuitous to have. Wistfully,there are few individuals who take “justice” into their own hands and sometimes by unjust methods. In some cases, when person or persons handle said situations, they can lead to violent, fatal, humiliating, but most illegal and disproportionate actions. While seldom, law enforcers have request assistance by some vigilante justice groups either through the vigilantes themselves or by their methods since it may be effective in dealing with a case. The concept itself is labeled what it’s labeled just from it’s illegal techniques alone. I still heavily disagree with any assistance from these people despite the situation because, it doesn’t seem right to excuse and use some vigilantes practices while punishing others. Vigilante justice, while effective in some cases, is not an acceptable or excusable way to deal justice.

Vigilante justice, for the most cases can make law enforcement more difficult, which can be seen through countless individuals words, “...many law enforcement officials say the site leads to few arrests and may even impede growing efforts to police the web” (Marisa Schultz-2). In most cases over the web or in this case, regarding catching pedophiles, it generally turns out to be very difficult for law enforcers to handle and can often result with someone’s private information getting out. It also doesn’t do much good for police, “"What people don't realize, if a person pulls over drunk drivers and then turns them over to the police (for an arrest), we didn't witness that," Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel said... how do we know who that is with certainly?” (Schultz-4). So, while individuals who track these people down do so with the best intention, in a way it hinders police advancements and may actually have been beneficial for the person being accused of crime, despite the humiliation. Not only does doing this hinder law enforcers work but from some people’s eyes, it’s practically a crime to try to catch law violators and deal with them, themselves,  “...From a law enforcement standpoint, those people should be in jail. It’s one thing to put their picture up on the web site and embarrass them, it’s another to make them pay for the crime they committed...” (Schultz-2). Here, Liczbinski, who is one of four investigators in the county's Internet Crime Unit featured, demonstrates how people shouldn’t try to take judicial matters into their own hands.

Another important aspect to remember is that vigilante justice typically involves publicly humiliating people and or violent or fatal actions. While I’m sure law enforcement would not excuse a fight, beating, or murder, that is simply an example of why you shouldn’t excuse other forms of vigilante justice from time to time like, catching pedophiles on the internet while humiliating them.  An example of this can be taken from this,  “In Mobile, Ala., an ongoing, racially charged neighborhood dispute culminated in the brutal beating of matthew owens, who is white, by a large group of black men, one of whom reportedly announced, “Now that’s justice for Trayvon” as he was leaving” (Tucker 1). This quote shows people attack a single, innocent, man for something that he had no involvement in but the people wanted something done and felt like that was right. While I don’t think anyone would excuse this, I believe that this is a great example of why other acts of vigilante justice that isn’t as bad as this shouldn’t be excused. Vigilante justice is vigilante justice no matter how you look at it.

The point that needs to get across is that vigilante justice is an immature and unjust way of dealing with personal problems or even problems that have nothing to do with the people at all and that it should not be tolerated or excused by any means. Despite the fact that it may be beneficial in some ways or cases, it shouldn’t just be excused for that when it's verily illegal and would not be tolerated if it was a different, worse, act of vigilante justice. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to simply hear me. I greatly appreciate it and all that you do.

Respectfully,


Christopher G.


The author's comments:

I wrote this piece after realizing how much of an issue vigilante justice is for the world and how it needs to be unnacceptable. I believe that no acts of this should be excused.


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on Jun. 11 2015 at 11:07 am
ClassyToe BRONZE, Sicklerville, New Jersey
4 articles 0 photos 7 comments

Favorite Quote:
The good thing about pain is the relief you feel when it's done.

You seem to know more about vigilantes and their practices than me, so I would like your opinion on something. I'm writing a screenplay about this neighborhood watch group in a city consumed by gang violence. The police, municipal government, and judges are all in the pockets of the main gang. The neighborhood watch group is run by four former cops who were each fired for failing to expose the police and mayor for who they really are. The mutinied leaders of the gang find them and convince them that to see real change, they need to take matters into their own hands. So they turn into a full vigilante justice group. Here is their tactics: they get funding from the affluent owner of all the adult entertainment businesses the mutinied gang leaders know (they NEVER steal), they target people who are associated with the gang with warrants, they chain them up, and drop them off at the nearest police station Spider-Man style, and REALLY try not to kill the gang members. There are instances where they have to kill, but when trying to shut down an operation they try to do it with precision. One of the mutinied gang leaders helping them is very trigger happy and mentally unstable, and that's part of a major conflict. She gets in trouble with the vigilantes and later on the cops use that against them when they come after them for disrupting their BFF's operations. The vigilantes don't want to fight the cops, so they handle this by collecting evidence against people like the mayor and chief to bring to Internal Affairs. While the majority of the cops and government officials are being trialed in the state's capital, the gang tries to seize full control of the city. The vigilantes are the only defenders left so they are forced to kill a lot of gang members, including the new leaders that actually puts an end to the gang. That's the basic plot minus specific character dynamics. So do you have any pointers for me? I would appreciate your insight. P.S. My protagonist completely refuses to kill anyone, and never does.