Vigilante neighbors in court for branding molester

Detroit Free Press ^ | 08/06/02 | L.L. BRASIER

[msuMD]

Three Pontiac men took the law -- and a blistering hot metal spatula -- into their hands when they learned a neighbor had been regularly sodomizing his 7- and 10-year-old nephews.

Two of the men held down the uncle while the third pressed the smoking spatula on his genitals, buttocks, stomach and legs. They paused only long enough to reheat the spatula on the kitchen stove for repeated branding before tossing the uncle out onto the sidewalk, breaking his arm.

[mhking]

Three Pontiac men took the law -- and a blistering hot metal spatula -- into their hands when they learned a neighbor had been regularly sodomizing his 7- and 10-year-old nephews.

Sounds like a plan to me...

Anybody know where that SOB Avila is being held?

[VoiceOfBruck]

The molester is still alive? Next time, use a bigger spatula.

[tracer]

The local burn unit??

[Hugin]

"That is not a good thing, because often the punishment is much harsher, more brutal, than what is appropriate," Fox said. "That's why we have laws, a system, to handle crime and punishment."

For repeatedly sodomizing a 7 and 10 year old? I would say the perv got off easy. Professor Fox and others like him who think this is too harsh a punishment are a big part of why people engage in vigilantism. When people feel they don't get justice from the courts, they deal it out themselves.

[ErnBatavia]

burn unit??

Sounds as if he got a "burned unit"....

[scholar]

Fox said he has seen a shift toward more vigilante activity in the last 10 years as people grow increasingly disenchanted with a criminal justice system they think does not work.

Well DUH!!--how long are we supposed to sit by and watch our children be molested and murdered, while the perps go free to repeat their crimes?

Inappropiate punishment--I don't think so!! The scars these perverts leave on their victims are far deeper than anything they might suffer.

[Just another Joe]

Already posted here.
Vigilante neighbors in court for branding molester

[aristeides]

I wonder why these guys pled guilty. It's hard to imagine a jury would have convicted them.

These prosecutors seem not to have heard of prosecutorial discretion. What the vigilantes did may have been against the law, but the prosecutors were not obliged to prosecute them. I wonder if this D.A. is an elected official. If so, he may just have created an election issue against himself.

[drjimmy]

But the story left out what race these people are. How can we properly evaluate the actions of these men without knowing the color of their skin?







that was sarcasm, for those who couldn't tell

[Jonathon Spectre]

"They turn them into folk heros, even when what they've done is not heroic."

Then you'd f**king hate to see what I'd do...

[Paleo Conservative]

They should have branded a large capital "M" on both sides of his face. That way everyone in prison will know that this scum is a child molester.

[tdscpa]

"Williams, who admitted throwing Gibson on the sidewalk, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault. Already serving a life sentence for murder in an unrelated case, Williams, 21, faces a year in prison for the assault."


How did Williams manage to do this while he was serving a life sentence for murder?

[TheBattman]

""That is not a good thing, because often the punishment is much harsher, more brutal, than what is appropriate," Fox said. "That's why we have laws, a system, to handle crime and punishment."
"

I think their brand of justice was perfectly appropriate - it's too bad the criminal justice system won't mead out that sort of punishment.

[DeaconBenjamin]

I agree, although I would expect that the court system would have done everything in its power to ensure that this never made it to a jury. For example, they could have empaneled a jury which heard the case, but the judge would take the case from the jury after the defense rested. Or they might have found an exception to the right to a jury trial. I can't imagine a jury not being at least unable to reach a verdict (if not finding not guilty) on these charges. But then I don't even play a criminal attorney on TV.

[Bob J]

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[rockprof]

In June 2001, Gibson, 38, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct for the attacks on his nephews and was ordered to serve an 8- to 40-year prison term.

8-40 years? What the hell kind of sentence is that?

If anyone ever tried to molest my son or daughter they will quietly disappear from the face of the earth.

[El Gato]

8-40 years? What the hell kind of sentence is that?

Probably less than you'd get for having the wrong kind of firearm, or a couple of rounds of the wrong kind of ammunition or other things that go bang, despite never having hurt a soul with it.