Vigilante Justice

What began in tragedy is sinking in sentiment. Spaghetti suppers around Jamestown, Calif., are raising money for the defense of Ellie Nesler, the little mining town's vigilante heroine. Total strangers send checks. Nesler's sister has appeared before the California Legislature to testify on a bill increasing penalties for child molestation, specifically because of "the recent incident in Jamestown." But beyond the photo ops, the original dilemma remains: Does provocation justify a crime?

My nomination for American hero of the 20th century is someone who lived half his life in disguise and the other half as the world's most recognizable man. He appeared on more radio broadcasts than Ellery Queen and in more movies than Marlon Brando, who once played his father. He helped give America the backbone to wage war against the Nazis, the Depression and the Red Menace. He remains an intimate to kids from Boston to Belgrade and has adult devotees who, like Talmudic scholars, parse his every utterance.

GIZA, Egypt - The woman with crates of unsold tomatoes breathed in the boisterous music of slum life: creaking shutters, squawking chickens, blowing laundry, clattering junkmen. But the ingrained rhythms only angered Hamid Ali Mohamed, who sat in an alley beside her rusting scales and a slim pile of 12 coins, the equivalent of less than $2 for a day's work at the vegetable stand she inherited from her late husband. "Hey!" she yelled at a passing woman. "Why'd you buy those tomatoes from someone else?"

Hahn is echoing the identical argument that every tyrant throughout history has used to gain power. "Give up your civil rights and your freedom so I can protect you from the bad guys." The problem is who decides who the bad guys are. The usual, and predictable, outcome is oppression and persecution of members of racial, religious or political minorities. Hahn's advocation of denying civil rights to street gang members is a fearful threat to the civil liberties of every one of us. A more reasonable method of ending the power of gangs would be to eliminate their economic windfall from illegal drugs sales, and to punish all the members for any criminal activities of that gang.

It is heartening to discover that our policy-makers have yielded to popular opinion in matters of foreign policy. The invasion of the sovereign nation of Panama to oust a dictator who stands accused of being an all around bad guy is an indication that vigilante justice still lives. This could be the beginning of an encouraging trend whereby protection under the law is denied anyone suspected or accused of wrongdoing. This new approach will considerably aid in the declared war on drugs because we can take out anybody who probably deals in drugs without the lengthy and expensive inconvenience of allowing them their day in court to confront their accusers.

A relic from the city's rip-roaring past, the Old El Monte Jail held some of the most unsavory characters to ride in the dying days of the Old West. For 42 years, the jail held the desperadoes and delinquents lucky enough to escape the "El Monte Boys" and the vigilante justice they delivered. Now, more than half a century after the jail's heyday, a campaign has started to have it designated as a Point of Historical Interest, the official state recognition for a local landmark.

A relic from the city's rip-roaring past, the Old El Monte Jail held some of the most unsavory characters to ride in the dying days of the Old West. For 42 years, the jail held the desperadoes and delinquents lucky enough to escape the "El Monte Boys" and the vigilante justice they delivered. Now, more than half a century after the jail's heyday, a campaign has started to have it designated as a state point of historical interest.

Neither snow nor rain nor dark of night can stay this Volkswagen from its appointed rounds. Postmaster Beverly Seal said the Davidson office routinely handles bulk mail, but nothing like what it found at the post office Thursday morning. When postal workers arrived, a VW was sitting in the lobby--with insufficient postage to boot. Less than 70 cents in stamps were stuck under a wiper blade. "I thought I'd ring up the postage due," Seal said. "But then I decided to ring up the owner instead."

A jury's deliberations were tainted by one member persistently claiming special knowledge about a woman who killed her son's alleged molester, an attorney argued this week. Three appellate justices on Thursday heard arguments for and against freeing Ellie Nesler, the Sonora woman whose actions sparked a debate about vigilante justice. The 5th District Court of Appeal is expected to issue a ruling within 90 days.