More often than not, it seems, vigilantes are just thugs. Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines a vigilante as a self-appointed doer of justice, but adds that the word sometimes carries the suggestion of the enforcement of laws without regard to due process or the general rule of law.
As I write, the abduction of Shannon Matthews has recently been dominating the news. In 2008, 9yo Shannon was reported missing by her mother Karen Matthews in their home town of Dewsbury. She was eventually found being held captive by the uncle of a man called Craig Meehan, who at the time was the boyfriend of Karen Matthews. Matthews was sentenced to prison, as was Meehan's uncle.
Although not linked with the abduction, Meehan was jailed for possession of indecent images of children. It has recently been reported that he has been viciously attacked by a gang of thugs, who presumably saw themselves as self-appointed punishers.
It is also reported that David Norris - one of the two men convicted of killing Stephen Lawrence in 1993 - has launched a lawsuit against the government because he was viciously attacked by three black men in prison. It is worth noting that Norris had not been convicted of the murder at that point, and so was technically innocent. However the attack on him would have been wrong even if it had taken place after his conviction.
As an aside, the murder of Stephen Lawrence is almost universally reported as having been racially motivated, which I won't argue with right now. I do wonder though whether or not the attack on David Norris should be seen as racially motivated. Would the inmates who attacked David Norris have attacked him if he - like them - had been black? I would be surprised if HMP Belmarsh did not at that time contain at least one black inmate who had attacked and perhaps even murdered someone.
I hope that the men who attacked Craig Meehan will be prosecuted and imprisoned. I await the outcome of David Norris's lawsuit.
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