Comments on: In pursuit of justice (4)

By: Bill

Bill — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 03:34:56 +0000

Even better would be to see a few cases where a home intruder was met by a person with the capacity (and I don’t say that lightly) and means to lay them out in self defence. The capacity is a hugely difficult thing, as we are raised and trained to be non-violent and to avoid conflict and seek reasonable means to deal with difficult issues. I wish that we were also trained or equipped in how to “flip a switch” when necessary and when confronted with useless trash like this home invader who was fully prepared to harm you (kill you?). That’s why I keep a nasty side to my personality in the shadows, just in case. It’s waaay back there in the shadows but given the right circumstances I hope and pray that Mr. Nasty would not hesitate to beat the living daylights out of a useless piece of crap like this guy who held a knife to your throat. Is this a “guy thing”? Possibly… but someone has to be ready to protect the home.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:12:47 +0000

Sharon, thanks for this story. I’ve been reading it with interest and glad to see the conclusion.

I haven’t been the victim of that violent a crime, but I have had my house broken into while I was home, and that was scary enough. But I feel the same way you do about “victim’s justice” as opposed to letting the justice system handle it.

By: David Cadogan

David Cadogan — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:35:01 +0000

I think the opportunity for victims to speak in court came as result of their feeling that they were left out of the process. They wanted to confront the offender. As is often the case, that has become part of the popular media fodder.
It is also part of what is now a very old move toward adding the human element to journalism. There was a time when the mainstream press stuck more to the who, what, where, when, and why of stories. There were lurid stories to be sure but not every event got that treatment. Now, if a mother has lost three children in a fire, you can almost count on it that someone will shove a microphone in her face and ask, “How do you feel about the news that your children burned?”
We also see the interviews with teenagers at schools who all seem to have been a victim’s best friend.
As you say, victimhood has now become almost a performance art. Even Oprah provides a platform.
As a lifelong newspaper person, I heard many victims say that the court process was very difficult, frustrating and unsatisfying for them. I think we need to continue to study that and come up with some ways to make them feel more that justice is being done. Perhaps the victim’s opportunity to confront the perpetrator could be done differently.

By: Robbie Lochead(Pereira)MGH 1964

Robbie Lochead(Pereira)MGH 1964 — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:37:19 +0000

Hmm, really think that victims need to be supported so they can get back to normal life no matter what class they come from.
In N.Z. it is taking place. I totally support people being supported quietly and out of the spotlight of the media. Fundraising is essential.
I take your point about the media and the wretched influence of reality TV and the pandemic of CSI type programs etc. Probably the crims are taking notes on how to do better crimes which is sad and this feeds into the media’s need to profit from people’s misery. I don’t watch much TV and have banned the network news as it is so sick.

By: lagatta à montréal

lagatta à montréal — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:04:22 +0000

You are right about this, of course. It is deeply classist.

Some feminists, horrified though we all are about the Polytechnique massacre, have also dared bring up this matter — the horror not only of 14 innocent women being killed for supposedly being “feminists” (and depriving the killer of what he saw as his “rightful place” in Engineering school) but because they were young and “promising”. Would the killing of 14 working-class women with no hope to be “promising” be remembered as much?

By: Marie-Paule

Marie-Paule — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:32:32 +0000

What an interesting read!! I too walked in on a robbery in my home approx. 17 years ago… and they did what you assumed your robber would … ran out the front door as I was walking in the side door. I was lucky. I’ll keep reading … take good care!!