Understanding Vigilante Justice

Police brutality and office involved shootings have sparked national debate and created a strain between police officers and citizens. Recently, there have been more home videos that display acts of aggression by police officers. These police officers often use excessive forces or a condescending tone towards people of color which is why there needs to be a better way to mend police and civilian relationship. People should be able to trust the police in their communities rather than fear them.

However, breaking the law is not always justified. Vigilantism and Terrorism are two major issues where groups or individuals claim to be providing justice or freedom. Vigilantes like the Ku Klux Klan are basically extremists who try to bring justice by exterminating wrong doers, while in doing so they are violating greater laws. To some they are freedom fighters and to others they are terrorists. Other extremists like the Jihadists are even worse; they conduct violent bombings and self sacrifices in the name of religion destroying innocent lives along

First, it is crucial to note that police brutality is not synonymous to racism against a particular group. However, there is a stigma that police often racially profile a specific African Americans. In February 2015, two cases of police brutality did not involve African Americans; instead the two victims were a Hispanic shot and killed in Washington State and an Indian-American severely paralyzed in Alabama. Even with this considered, of late, a majority of police brutality cases have involved minorities and specifically African American males. Cases such as Michael Brown and Freddie Gray have sparked a cultural uprising. These trigger event inspired the protests and riots against police brutality demonstrating collective action and physical violence, but the idea of police brutality is much larger than these individual cases, since it is a reoccurring cycle.

“I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” These were the last words of Eric Garner, a middle-aged African American man. Garner died at the hands of multiple police officers who were trying to restrain him for selling cigarettes. These sorts of images are showcased on television way too often. To the point that some people feel helpless, they know that they alone do not have the power to overthrow the superiority of an officer. So they have really no choice but watch the tragedy unfold. Also fear that if they interfere, that they may be the next victim. “I am most struck by the behavior of the EMTs, who stood along with the police and did nothing as they watched Eric Garner die” (Williams 10). Although some people deny that police brutality is a problem, recent studies and events (such as the one listed above) prove that ultra-aggressive police officers, militarization of police agencies, and the effects of racism have increased police brutality.

According to Luke J. Merrimen of Barrister and Solicitor Criminal Defense Litigation, “Outside the confines of [the] criminal justice system, an allegation often carries with it a presumption of guilt, and in the minds of some, an absolute certainty of guilt.” Due to the fact that each person is guaranteed to be innocent until proven guilty, vigilante justice often infringes upon this presumption of innocence because vigilantes often see the suspected lawbreaker as guilty before collecting facts about the supposed committed crime. This being the case, the suspected lawbreaker is given no chance to provide the vigilante with facts, leading to a hasty judgement by the vigilante. If vigilante based justice was allowed, there would logically be an increase in people being wrongly accused. Overall, vigilantism seizes the right of presumption of innocence given to each United States

Law enforcement agencies tend to tug of war over controlling the crime for the good of society. To maintain peace, order and a high quality of life with freedom attached. Then the other side of the rope is law enforcement tends to use the power delegated to control society as to how those in the high positions of power dictate. Public safety may take precedence over individuals’ rights at times. For example, a curfew being in effect can be a disadvantage because this is more of a mass punishment procedure. Obviously not everyone involved is guilty but that is the way public order works at times. With the ever-present need to

A young man’s brutal death at the hands of the police is found justified in a court of law due to his “suspicious” appearance: a black hoodie and his hands in his pocket. An elderly woman is fatally shot in her home for her relation to a suspected criminal. A married man with two toddlers is choked to death after a minor traffic stop by an officer who later claimed that his unarmed victim was wielding a gun. These people all have a few commonalities: the color of their skin, their presumed guilt at first sight, and their ultimate unjustified death administered by the law force. These are not uncommon occurrences. Due to the staggeringly disproportionate rate of African-Americans killed by the police, and the underlying rampant racial profiling, police brutality towards blacks in America must be called to light.

Louis County Police Department (where Ferguson is located) was asked about the allegations, police said that they “had one mission, and that was the preservation of life” (Gillam, 2014). The Amnesty report also questioned a Missouri law, which they stated might be unconstitutional because it allows police to use deadly force against someone even if there isn’t an imminent threat of harm. The law states an officer may use “deadly force in effecting an arrest or in preventing an escape from custody when the officer reasonably believes that such use of deadly force is immediately necessary to effect the arrest and also reasonably believes that the person to be arrested... has committed or attempted to commit a felony” (Gillam, 2014). This report asks lawmakers to make Missouri law comply with international standards of lethal force by police as a last resort.

“The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” said Wayne LaPierre, a top executive at the National Rifle Association (NRA).

As written in the article “Self-Defense Laws: Should States Expand Self-Defense Laws to Legally Protect the Use of Deadly Force, Even in Public Places?” “Those new laws have caused a stir among many gun control advocates, who argue that they will create a "Wild West" mentality in which people will settle disputes with gunfire and bloodshed” (Self-Defense). They may not totally be wrong. All it could take for someone is a wrong action or few choice words, and a person with a short fuse could be set off. This type of action is not right and is not justifiable by any means; It should strictly be only used in a life-or-death situation. Not because someone called somebody else

Individuals should not challenge laws if it will lead to violence and multiple deaths. Examples of this occur

What is police brutality? It is the use of excessive and or unnecessary force by police when dealing with civilians. Excessive force means a force well beyond what is needed to handle the situation. According to Deborah C. England, “Police brutality affects not only its immediate victims, but can undermine the community trust in its police force”. (England). Police brutality is not only just use of force, it also includes forcing civilians to perform sexual favors in order to avoid a ticket or jail time for various infractions of law.

Right wing militias pose a serious threat to the security of the United States. People who oppose the laws of the federal government through the threat of violence hold views that are incompatible with democratic society. A combination of right wing, antigovernment, and at times racist views combined with arms both illegal and legal pose a serious domestic security challenge. As recently as 2014 during the Bundy Ranch standoff, armed men and women who oppose the laws of the United States have made it know they are willing to fight against enforcement of the rule of law. It is imperative to understand who these people are, what they believe in, how they carry out their operations, and how they can be countered. In a democratic society like the US, violence or the threat of violence has no place in what laws are passed or how governments conduct business.

Every crime has a correlation with a theory in criminology. These theories explain why crime happens and some even go to the extent to come up with a solution to prevent or stop crime. This paper will explore how certain theories of criminology connect with the riots that happened in Ferguson, Missouri. Facts from different articles will be used to back up the theory. The theories will explain why rioters committed the crimes did. The paper will take the actions of the protestors and explain why they did what they did.

Do you believe in vigilantism? Do you believe in criminals and outlaws being punished for their crimes in the name of justice? What if you knew someone who was so close to you, you would do whatever it took to find those responsible for the pain they caused and punish them in the name of justice. Would you walk down the path of a vigilante and help bring about an end to their tyranny? Vigilantism can be looked at as crime if you look at it in a negative way, or it can be looked at in a positive way. Many vigilantes help make the world a better place every day by doing away with the evil people in this world who kidnap, rape, murder, and loot people in the streets. Vigilantism is justified because the vigilantes help make the world a better