Children held captive by their parents

You've assuredly heard the story of the California parents caught isolating and abusing their children in California. If you haven't heard of it, here is a link to the story. The story is sickening.

As a younger man I would have volunteered to throw these two parents to the gas chamber, flip the switch and then watch gleefully as they gasp for breath and die. I would have felt no guilt whatsoever for it either-none. Now, I think they are entitled to a fair and objective jury trial. If they are found guilty, then you can execute them and no, I'd feel no guilt if I was the shooter. Some people out there who act like this really do need to die.

It's tempting to go the vigilante justice route here. Believe me, all of us have thought about it. The problem with the vigilante justice is that you and I can't decide who lives and dies. It's not our place. To some degree, it's playing God and if you don't believe in God (nothing wrong with that) it's against the law. If you took the law into your hands and decided to dish out justice no matter how much of a scumbag the person is than yes, you should be prosecuted for murder.

Movies like "A Time to Kill" and "Death Wish" (which is tragically being remade) disturb me. Not just because they are terrible movies but because they glorify vigilante justice. You'll see some pseudo tough guy saying something like "I'd do the same thing-I'd kill someone who looked at my child wrong!" Ask yourself this-do you want someone elses blood on your hands? Killing people might seem like a noble thing to do but in reality, it's not pleasant to have that on your conscience. No matter what you might think.