"When people begin to believe that organized society is unwilling or unable to impose upon criminal offenders the punishment they deserve then there are sown the seeds of anarchy - of self-help, vigilante justice, and lynch law. San Francisco experienced vigilante justice during the Gold Rush in the middle part of the last century; the mining towns of Montana experienced it a short time later; and it is still with us as a result of the series of unsolved slayings . . . ."
Vigilante
Someone who personally claims to enforce law and order, but lacks legal authority to do so. Vigilantes operate by using actual or threatened force, and are distinguished from people who simply watch out for criminal behavior and report it to the police. Vigilantes are often motivated by a desire to avenge a perceived harm or injustice.
Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary
Someone who takes the law into his or her own hands by seizing someone and attempting to convict and punish the supposed criminal.
Definition provided by Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary.
August 19, 2010, 5:26 pm
