roy

TOWARD RESTORATIVE JUSTICE What might happen if victims met with their victimizers or people closely related to their offen- ders? Could anything constructive come from these encounters? A social movement advocating restorative justice believes victims would be better off if they explored the healing potential of such meetings in order to get past the understandable […]

The Appeal of Retaliatory Justice Once in a while, a case that appears in the news serves as a reminder that victims and their allies can go too far and unleash violence to avenge past wrongs—and still garner public support for their misdeeds: A man in court is accused of molesting several young boys at

Vigilantism(s) Frontier Origins Vigilantism has a long and ugly history, especially in the Old West and the Deep South. It began in colonial times as a reaction to marauding bands of desperadoes operating along the frontier. In Virginia in the late 1700s, a vigilance committee led by Colonel William Lynch developed a repu- tation for

Victims and Bystanders Sometimes Engage in Retaliatory Justice A nine-year-old girl is allegedly raped on two occasions by her uncle. Her uncle’s son allegedly molests her older brother. Their mother reports these allegations to the police and a bitter family feud ensues. One day, the mother drives to the uncle’s workplace and directly confronts him.

The Vague Line Between Victims Acting in Self-Defense and Using Excessive Force Five young men board a subway train late at night after drinking at a baby shower. They sit across from a number of other young men who had been drinking at a bar and are loud and raucous, and harassing other passengers. One

Trends in Justifiable Homicides, United States , 1988–2013 SOURCES: FBI, UCR, 1988–2013. Unfortunately, the data may not be reliable because of incomplete participation by police depart- ments and inadequate record-keeping by depart- ments that do take part in the annual body count. Investigative reporters uncovered more than 550 police-involved killings between 2007 and 2012 that

Victims might lose shootouts against better armed, more ruthless opponents In gun battles with armed offenders, victims probably lose more often than they win, skeptics believe. In some confrontations, attackers may wrest the gun away and shoot victims with their own weapons—this even happens to well-trained, physically fit police officers. In many other con- frontations,

People who own guns for protection might turn their weapons on themselves Impulsive suicides in moments of despair are disturbingly common. Suicides by gunfire outnum- ber gun murders each year (Miller and Hemenway, 2008). In 2011, just about 20,000 people ended their lives with firearms. Murderers dispatched about 11,000 individuals using bullets that year (CDC,

Introducing a gun into a conflict is likely to lead to an escalation of hostilities Critics believe that carrying around a deadly weapon increases the likelihood that a minor argu- ment will turn into a life-threatening showdown. The chances of a needless tragedy breaking out are heightened when gun owners are tired, fright- ened, intoxicated,

Getting a gun for protection actually puts its owner in greater danger Although many people conjure up fantasies about how drawing a gun will save them, the real- ity is that gunfire is more likely to claim an inno- cent life or their own. Owning a firearm for personal safety could actually heighten risks and