I'd be the one to put them down.

Fair enough...I was only trying to point out that there is a serious lack of 'concrete evidence' in reality...so serious caution should be applied.

Wow, you scare me. EVEN if I had to be in protective custody FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE, I could never live one day knowing I let others die by withholding information that could have saved them. And there are lots of people that feel as you do, "Look out for number 1." It's damned selfish, not to mention you will go to prison for accessory if it is known that you had that info and withheld it. I guess that would be a little bit of justice for all the dead people and their families.

In reality, yeah I'll agree with that, but for the basis of this scenario, it is to be assumed that such Concrete Evidence is in fact possible to be obtained ^^

It's a bad situation. I suggest finding that shotgun in the prayer in your sig and confronting the 'known' killer is a better solution for all involved.

Either they convince you that your 'concrete evidence' is all a mistake and some overactive imagination, or you kill them in self defense. The state is saved the cost of a trial, the survivors of the victims get immediate closure if you are right, and no harm done to anyone if you are wrong...especially if you are wrong about the solidity of your proof.

Right or wrong, calling the cops makes things worse for just about everyone involved...even the cops.

This thread reminds me of the the TV series, the Following.

Come on there, Tim. You're going more deep into this than you need to. And I don't think you need to worry about the cops, they know what they signed up for. I don't really support vigilante justice.

The shotgun in my sig is in self-defense, protecting my house, not murder. If I were to take that shotgun and murder the person in question, then I am no better off than they are, am I? Either you are just playing devils advocate, or you are...nevermind. I'm done discussing this with you.

You want to call the cops rather than pull a gun. If we are really talking about a serial killer 'call the cops' has the same end result. Either they are guilty and deserve it or they aren't. Pretending that calling the cops somehow keeps your hands cleaner than pulling the gun yourself is the thinking that I was trying to bring to light...but I shouldn't have hijacked the thread to do it. My apologies Starwolf.

What if it were your mother or child?

Personally I would never snitch on a loved one but the serial killer thing would be very disturbing as killing without purpose is a serious issue so I would make sure they sought out treatment for it in the forms of meds and therapy. I wouldn't feel comfortable sleeping next to them ever again

Yes, probably. It is easy to say no, but when it happens it is different than saying it..I think I would because as a person I'm not too strong, and I love my family too much.

With this alone, the answer is hell no. It doesn't matter the situation, a serial killer is never good nor worth protecting.

This will be my last comment. Vigilante justice is murder, not due process. Even a serial killer deserves his or her day in court, even if it means capital punishment. If I were to do it, it's murder, if the state does it, it's justice applied through the courts. If it's in a state where they have no capital punishment, then life with never a chance for parole. What you advocate has no logic or reason, just...asinine responses.

Ive always said to my friends and family if i know that they did something wrong i would inform the authorities and give what evidence i have to make sure they are convicted. I had a friend that was accused of theft from multiple people, the person making the accusation wasnt in any way a reliable source, but because it was an organisation the accusation had to be investigated, i told my friend because i was investigating it, and i said if it was found to be true i would make sure that they were prosecuted, not that it was likely but it still had to be done, and i will not cover up for anyone.

If you actually know, which was the premise of the question, then justice is provided by 'vigilante justice'...where calling the cops leads to providing 'justice' that is no less fallible than any other second hand dispenser can provide.

What do you do if despite your 'certain knowledge' the verdict comes back not guilty? Shrug off further killings? What if when the cops arrive you find out that sociopath dad was counting on you calling them and has an airtight frame laid out for your innocent brother...or you?

The desire for 'clean hands' and the pretense that cops are anything different from any other weapon are a widespread problem, in my opinion.

Cowards take the law into their own hands. Or do nothing at all.

Perhaps but every one of those outcomes will end their life anyway (life behind bars isn't living) so why not put them out of their misery as you would put a dying dog down? There's little justice to be found in the justice system anyway, rich murderers have walked free and innocents have been put on death row....the jury of your "peers" is a lie. I say sometimes street justice is more fair then the courts as there's no lies or loopholes involved, just the raw law of the universe.
What? So it's cowardly to grab that shotgun and protect your family instead of calling the cops to do it for you?

*points to my above post*

While I agree with the sentiment, and giving my OP question, this is an appropriate response, but I do actually like Tims question in his last post. What if your loved one has a way to completely frame you for all the crimes, and you know about it? Do you kill them, or still try to leave it up to the law and then take the punishment as your own? Personally, I don't fancy spending the rest of my life in prison for a crime I didn't commit, so I would have to answer "I don't say a word, or I kill them". LOL. I'm not sure which I'd do, it would depend on whether or not I can find a way to get rid of their airtight frame on me after they are dead. if I can, I'll kill em, if I can't, I'm keeping my mouth shut, because I refuse to leave my family for the rest of my life over a series of crimes I didn't commit.

Of course, Tims question does interfere with the original premise that "The crimes do not affect me in any sort of way" which would include a framing of myself if I ratted them out.

So complicated.....lol

points to my edited response to your above post that points at your signature

That's not vigilante justice, vigilante justice would be me letting the person do whatever they want, and then hunting them down later. In the case of immediate danger, that's not vigilante, and I can't believe I keep arguing with such nonsense comments. You all scare me. :rolleyes:

You said "Cowards take the law into their own hands" and I pointed out that shooting someone breaking into your home is taking the law into your own hands and asked you if that's cowardly. So it's only cowardly to take the law into your own hands in certain situations then? That sounds like nonsense to me (no offense).

I don't see the difference between both murders, whether it's killing a stranger entering your house (who's likely unarmed and just seeking money) or killing a loved one who's a serial killer that might kill you for finding out...both are killing another to protect yourself, the difference is that the latter is more of a preemptive strike. Also no one has to be "hunted down" Charles Bronson style in this situation as it's a loved one and there's a good chance you live together.

Nope. If someone in my family was a serial killer, they'd destroy any emotional or familial ties I had to them by commiting such a heinous act.

Actually, the crimes still aren't affecting you in any way...the effect comes from your involving the cops.

The issues I was hoping to illustrate are the previously mentioned misconception that 'calling the cops' keeps your hands clean of the results...which if it were true would be similar to the 'don' not being responsible when his thugs do whatever thugs do for him. And the widely promoted infallibility of the 'justice system'.

Modern 'civilized' people love to believe that they aren't responsible for what cops do, or that there are never any errors made. The truth is there are plenty of errors made, and if you are the one who involved the cops the outcome is your responsibility, whether that outcome is 'just' or not.

If you are sure of your position there is nothing wrong with taking action directly rather than through an intermediary. You'll notice I said take your gun and confront the (theoretical) killer. Maybe you'll find out you are wrong. Or maybe you are right and have put yourself in harms way, in which case it's a good thing you brought the gun and can defend yourself. Either way you have taken a responsible action and (I believe) should have no trouble sleeping over the results.

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Somewhat off topic but illustrating my point...

Recently my local cops, acting on a tip from a 'confidential source' drew a search warrant. In retrospect the judge did not have all the information, as cops (including the one who drew the warrant) had been on the property a couple days before so the 'meth lab' they were told was there had to have sprung up literally overnight,,,but what the heck, whatever it takes to get a warrant, eh?

In exercising this warranted search the cops descended on a house around dawn, broke in, identified themselves verbally to the sleeping occupant who happened to be an eighty year old man who slept without his hearing aids. There is some question about exactly when they shot the man dead. They say it was when the man came into the hall from his bedroom brandishing a gun. The man's family point out that his glasses were on the headboard so he probably couldn't have found the hallway. Since he did keep a gun on the headboard also they speculate the cops shot him when he reached for either the glasses or the gun. The scene was investigated by cops, so whether the man was shot in bed or just fell there is not public knowledge. The family provided cell phone pictures that leave little doubt the blood covered bed was involved somehow.

As the man did not 'comply with reasonable orders' the shooting was deemed justified. This took less than three days. No one but the cops knows who the 'confidential informant' is, though members of the family suggest there is a long standing grudge held by someone known to hang out with cops and would guess that's the one. Since our local cops are among the nation's leaders in 'waistband' shootings (people who don't even have a gun but 'seemed to reach for something') this case has barely caused a ripple.