After serving in the war, Francis Cassavant returns to his town with one purpose: to take revenge for his friend Nicole Renard. As a young girl, Nicole had been a victim of sexual abuse. The incident has left her with life-long trauma.
The book “Heroes” deals with many emotional themes such as war, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and sexual abuse. One theme, however, that becomes prominent towards the end of the book is vigilantism, when individuals take the law into their own hands without the legal authority to do so.
Can you take justice into your own hands?
This grave injustice makes Francis enraged. He feels compelled to take justice into his own hands. He takes a gun and intends to shoot Larry dead. However, is the law on his side?
To answer this question, we will look at both the English and Welsh law.
Do our legal system deal with perpetrators whose intentions appear to be morally right, but whose actions may be characterised as unlawful?
Firstly, an important distinction must be made between vigilantism and self-defense.
Vigilantism is when a victim, or someone who cares about the victim, commits violence against the perpetrator after the perpetrator has committed the crime. The intention here is not to prevent harm but rather to take revenge.
Self-defense is when someone commits violence against the perpetrator at the same time as they are being attacked. Violence in this case is carried out with the intent of protecting oneself against any potential harm.
Most criminalised acts require malice or evil intent. However, with vigilantism, malice is not always present (at least not with Francis). So, what makes vigilantism wrong?
The English and Welsh legal systems do not address vigilantism as a separate act.
The law prohibits acts such as causing grievous bodily harm, threatening someone, and doxing their public information. A vigilante may commit those acts with the intention to achieve justice, however, that does not make them lawful.
When analysing whether an action is criminal, the courts must examine two elements: action and intent.
If a person wanted to commit murder, they would need to have an intention to either kill or cause grievous bodily harm to another person. Of course, intention is not sufficient on its own, it is also necessary to find the act of terminating someone’s life as present in the case. That is the criminal test to be charged with murder. The court will not consider any ulterior motives.
But the courts will allow for defences to be made against charges such as duress, insanity, self-defence. Courts then do have a duty to consider defences, and this might provide for lesser sentences, possible acquittals, appeals. Killing for revenge, however, is not a viable defence. The perpetrator of such a crime will likely be found guilty of murder.
For example, Francis intended to shoot Larry. If he succeeded in doing so, he would be prosecuted for murder. Whether or not he killed Larry to seek justice or to venge for his friend is irrelevant.
Why is vigilantism a crime?
Not all forms of vigilantism are about achieving justice.
Some vigilantes might harm others whom they perceive to be threatening them when in fact they are innocent.
The law only allows the punishment of criminals when they have undergone a fair trial. The right to a fair trial is enshrined in Article 6 of the European Human Rights Convention, which makes it a human right.
So in the case of Larry, he would have had a right to a fair trial , where a jury would be obliged to listen to all of the evidence in front of them, and upon examining and reviewing that evidence they would be asked by the judge to decide whether they found Larry guilty or innocent.
This system exists to make sure that no innocent people are punished for a crime they did not commit.
What can we do if the police are not available?
The only action we are allowed to take under English and Welsh law is arrest.
This means that private citizens, i.e. people who do not work with law enforcement, can arrest someone who is a suspect in a crime temporarily until the police become available. It is important to note that those making the arrest are not allowed to cause any bodily harm to those being arrested.
Permission to make an arrest may only occur if the suspect has committed an indictable offence. An indictable offence is a serious offence that can only be tried in the court. This type of offence includes murder, sexual offences, drug offences, and fraud.
What can Francis do under English law?
The only lawful option that Francis has is to report Larry’s crime to the police.
Murder, assault, abuse and any grievous bodily harm as well as harassment would not be permissible under the law simply because the victim is a criminal.
To conclude
Francis has the right intention to seek justice for Nicole. Justice is the purpose of a legal system, but the court is where it should occur. A trial ensures the fairness of the procedure in which suspects of crimes are found guilty or innocent. This guarantees that the right people are being punished and that no innocent person is punished for a crime they did not commit.
Who can support you?
Below is a list of agencies that will help you if you have been a victim of a crime:
- National Crime Agency
- Citizen’s Advice Witness
- uk
- CPS
- Victim and Witness Information
- Crimestoppers in Wales | Crimestoppers
- Stori Cymru
- Bawso
- New Pathways
- Welsh Women’s Aid
- Live Fear Free Wales
Please click on the links to find more information on the support available.
Bio
My name is Layla Almasri, and I am a master’s student at Swansea University. I am currently studying the Legal Practice Course which will allow me to become a qualified lawyer. I am interested in practicing human rights law.
Thanks goes to Yasmin Husain of Sinclairs Law for proof checking this blog.