can citizens punish criminals if the law doesnt?

Question

i pretty much need a link
because i need to find information on this
i cant seem to find any

hey, this isnt saying i want to go kill someone because they stole my cat
im looking for information
because my english teacher wants me to back the fact that citizens should be able to punish criminals if the law doesnt
pretty crappy argument
all i have is a artice on citizens arrest

Answer 1

as far as i know you cant. only people who have power can.

Answer 2

No....that is anarchy. In the days of the old west this was done because of the lack of readily available law enforcement. The nearest Federal marshal might have been 100's of miles away and a judge making a run on a circut every couple of months. So vigilanties took the law into their own hands. Usually without the true benefir
t of trial and made decisions on either assumptions or just the fact you were a *****, indian or mexican usually assured the person a rope was being fitted for them immediately.
Taking the law into your own hands will give you a taste of the punishment end of the real law.
Don't do anything foolish. Let it go man. Just remember...the wheels of the gods grind slow but they grind exceedingly fine.

Answer 3

There wasa case where a neighborhood boarded up a crack house and chased the users away. The local judge had no problem with that. However there was no physical contact or private property damage. They simply moved the problem and people away from their neighborhood.
If you can come up with a solution that you yourself do not break the law, then it is possible to "punish" criminals. Without knowing what the criminals did of course limits everyones answers.

Answer 4

Depends upon what you mean by "punish," and what you mean by "the law." You certainly cannot imprison somebody or hurt him. But if somebody caused you harm which is not punished criminally, you can sue him civilly and get money damages. Prime example: O.J. Simpson. In some types of cases you can even get "punitive damages" which are designed to punish.

Answer 5

I don't really have a link, but criminally speaking, you cannot punish a criminal without incurring penalty upon yourself. In a civil court, you can find redress. Wrongful death suits are usually easier to win because the burden of proof is not as difficult to establish as in a criminal case.

Answer 6

Your only course to "punish" them is in civil court via a lawsuit. In Texas some years back there was a highly publicized murder case. The court found the defendant, a rather wealthy man, not guilty. He was sued in civil court and found liable and had to pay the family of the murdered woman millions of dollars.

Answer 7

There is no link. The answer is no. That is called being a vigilante and you can be prosecuted for it. Someone can not be considered a criminal unless they are convicted for a crime. A citizen does not have the right to be the judge, jury and executioner.

Answer 8

Can't help you with a link, but to answer in a word, no. If you're in that boat, I honestly feel for you, and wish you the best of luck. I have a family member doing a life sentence for defending himself. I highly recommend against taking the law into your own hands.

Answer 9

You only have the right to defend your life, property and the lives of others in your presence, otherwise vigilanteeism is noting more than a war zone like Iraq, Somalia and the Sudan.

Answer 10

Yup, but then the law punishes you. Isn't the law awesome?

Answer 11

No. We do not have vigilante justice here. Go to a 3rd world country.