Shadow Vigilantes

by Paul H. Robinson

  2. Dobbyn, “Case of the 13th Juror.”

  3. This narrative is drawn primarily from the following sources: People v. Thomas, 463 N.E.2d 832 (Ill. App. Ct. 1984); Bill Boyce and Linnet Myers, “Experts Defend Law That Freed Man in Killing,” Chicago Tribune, May 4, 1985, http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1985-05-04/news/8501270562_1_new-trial-juvenile-court-prosecutors (accessed June 8, 2017); Linnet Myers, “Clerk's Error Frees Man Held in Killing,” Chicago Tribune, May 3, 1985, p. A1.

  4. Thomas, 463 N.E.2d at 832.

  5. Myers, “Clerk's Error Frees Man.”

  6. This narrative is drawn primarily from the following sources: People v. Healy, 688 N.E.2d 786 (1997); State v. Healy, 1992 WL 12580086 (Ill. Cir.); People v. Healy, Post Conviction Motion, 1992 WL 12580087 (Ill. Cir.); 725 ICLS 5/103-5.

  7. Healy, 688 N.E.2d at 787.

  8. Ibid. at 788.

  9. Ibid.

  10. Ibid. at 789.

  11. For a discussion of the justifications that have been offered in support of justice-frustrating legal rules and practices, see Paul H. Robinson and Michael T. Cahill, Law without Justice: Why Criminal Law Doesn't Give People What They Deserve (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006), part 2.

  12. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966).

  13. This narrative is drawn from the following sources: People v. Ferro, 63 N.Y.2d 316 (N.Y. 1984); People v. Ferro, 92 A.D.2d 298 (1983) rev'd, 63 N.Y.2d 316 (N.Y. 1984); Scott Christianson, Innocent: Inside Wrongful Conviction Cases (New York: New York University Press, 2006).

  14. Ferro, 92 A.D.2d at 300.

  15. Ibid.

  16. The dissenting judge argues that placing the furs in front of Ferro does not constitute an interrogation, so his statements to the detective should be admissible. The judge reasons that the police never questioned Ferro or subjected him to any physical coercion to get him to talk. Additionally, the judge thinks that the majority applies the law “too literally and mechanically”; therefore, Ferro's conviction should be upheld. Ferro, 63 N.Y.2d at 324.

  17. The narrative is based on the following sources: People of the State of Illinois v. Larry W. Eyler, Case No. 83 CF 1585, “Report of Proceedings,” February 3, 1984; People of the State of Illinois v. Larry W. Eyler, Case No. 83 CF 1585, “Supplemental Memorandum in Support of Defendant's Motions to Suppress,” February 1, 1984; People of the State of Illinois v. Larry W. Eyler, Case No. 83 CF 1585, “Supplemental Memorandum in Opposition to Defendant's Motion to Suppress,” February 1, 1984; People of the State of Illinois v. Larry W. Eyler, No. 84-126 (North Eastern Reporter, 2nd Series, October 25, 1989), 268-92; John O'Brien, “The Eyler Legacy: 21 Deaths,” Chicago Tribune, March 9, 1994, http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-03-09/news/9403090089_1_larry-eyler-murders-notorious-serial-killers (accessed June, 8 2017); Sarah Talalay, “Eyler Dies in Prison,” Chicago Tribune, March 7, 1994, http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-03-07/news/9403070026_1_larry-eyler-daniel-bridges-steven-agan (accessed June 8, 2017); John O'Brien, “Call Helped Link Eyler to Slayings,” Chicago Tribune, December 16, 1990, http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1990-12-16/news/9004140228_1_larry-eyler-steven-agan-illinois-prison (accessed June 8, 2017); Jon O'Brien, “Professor Who Lived with Eyler Charged in ’82 Torture Killing,” Chicago Tribune, December 19, 1990, p. S1; George Papajohn, “Eyler Sentenced to 60 Years for ’82 Indiana Killing,” Chicago Tribune, December 29, 1990, p. S5; Gera-Lind Kolarik and Wayne Klatt, Freed to Kill: The True Story of Larry Eyler (New York: Avon Books, 1992); Eyler v. Babcox, 582 F. Supp. 981 (N.D. Ill. 1983); People v. Eyler, 477 N.E.2d 774 (Ill. App. 1985); Eyler v. Illinois, 498 U.S. 881 (1990); George Anastaplo, “Lawyers, First Principles, and Contemporary Challenges: Explorations,” Northern Illinois University Law Review 19 (1999): 353.

  18. Kolarik and Klatt, Freed to Kill, p. 258.

  19. For the aftermath of this story, see the postscript.

  20. The narrative is drawn from the following sources: Ferguson v. State, 642 A.2d 772, 787 (1994); Ferguson v. Com., Pennsylvania Bd. of Prob. & Parole, 111 Pa. Cmwlth. 562, 563-65, 534 A.2d 579, 580-81 (1987); Commw. v. Ferguson, 1987 Pa. Super. LEXIS 8078 (Pa. Super. Ct. May 27, 1987).

  21. For the aftermath, see the postscript.

  22. The narrative is drawn from the following sources: Ravi Venkataraman, “The Murder of Vincent Chin—30 Years Later,” New America Media, June 17, 2012, http://newamericamedia.org/2012/06/the-murder-of-vincent-chin---30-years-later.php (accessed November 8, 2017); United States v. Ebens, 800 F. 2d 1422 (6th Cir. 1986); Ross Parker, “‘It's Not Fair…,’ Vincent Chin's Last Words,” Court Legacy 14, no. 4, November 2007.

  23. Venkataraman, “Murder of Vincent Chin.”

  24. Parker, “‘It's Not Fair…,’” p. 1.

  25. Ibid., p. 2.

  26. Ibid., p. 3.

  27. Ibid., p. 4.

  28. This narrative is derived from the following sources: Kristine Guerra, “Wife Who Was Raped Says Husband's Sentence Unjust,” IndyStar (Indianapolis, IN), May 21, 2014, http://www.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2014/05/19/wife-raped-says-husbands-sentence-unjust/9299531/ (accessed June 8, 2017); Matt Pearce, “Indiana Judge Assailed for Light Sentence in Husband-Wife Rape Case,” Los Angeles Times, May 20, 2014, http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-indiana-rape-judge-20140520-story.html (accessed June 8, 2017); Meg Wagner, “Wife Outraged When Husband Who Drugged, Raped Her Avoids Jail Time: ‘I Was Told That I Needed to Forgive My Attacker,’” New York Daily News, May 20, 2014, http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/man-guilty-drugging-raping-wife-avoids-jail-time-article-1.1798871 (accessed June 8, 2017); Elizabeth Chuck, “Indiana Judge under Fire after Giving No Jail Time to Rapist,” NBC News, May 27, 2014, http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/indiana-judge-under-fire-after-giving-no-jail-time-rapist-n115216 (accessed June 8, 2017).

  29. Guerra, “Wife Who Was Raped.”

  30. Pearce, “Indiana Judge Assailed.”

  31. Ibid.

  32. Chuck, “Indiana Judge under Fire.”

  33. This narrative is drawn primarily from the following sources: Mara Bovsun, “Justice Story: FALN Bomb Kills 4 at Fraunces Tavern, Where George Washington Said Farewell to Troops,” New York Daily News, January 21, 2012, http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/faln-bomb-kills-4-fraunces-tavern-article-1.1008711 (accessed June 8, 2017); Justice Undone: Clemency Decisions in the Clinton White House (Washington, DC: House Committee on Government Reform, March 14, 2002), http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/clinton/pardonrpt/ (accessed June 8, 2017); Encyclopedia of Chicago History, s.v. “Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional (FALN),” by Gina M. Perez, http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/489.html (accessed June 8, 2017); Wikipedia, s.v. “Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional Puertorrique,” last edited October 13, 2017, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuerzas_Armadas_de_Liberaci%C3%B3n_Nacional_Puertorrique%C3%B1a; David M. Bresnahan, “FALN Victim's Son Chastises Clinton,” World Net Daily, February 4, 2000, http://www.wnd.com/2000/02/412/ (accessed June 8, 2017).

  34. Bovsun, “Justice Story.”

  35. Encyclopedia of Chicago History, s.v. “Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional.”

  36. Ibid.

  37. Justice Undone.

  38. Dieter Nohlen, Elections in the Americas: A Data Handbook, Volume I (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), p. 552.

  39. Debra Burlingame, “The Clintons’ Terror Pardons,” Wall Street Journal, February 12, 2008.

  40. Encyclopedia of Chicago History, s.v. “Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación.”

  41. Committee on Government Reform, The FALN and Macheteros Clemency: Misleading Explanations, a Reckless Decision, a Dangerous Message (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1999), https://www.congress.gov/106/crpt/hrpt488/CRPT-106hrpt488.pdf (accessed November 13, 2017).

  42. Committee on Government Reform, “Findings of the Committee on Government Reform,” 1999, http://fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/final_faln_rpt2.htm (accessed June 8, 2017).

  43. Bresnahan, “FALN Vict
im's Son Chastises.”

  44. The narrative is drawn from the following sources: Bob Hill, Double Jeopardy: Obsession, Murder, and Justice Denied (New York: William Morrow, 1995); Elinor J. Brecher, “Brenda Schaefer: ‘That Woman Who Disappeared’; How Could This Ordinary Person with No Apparent Enemies—a Doctor's Office Assistant Who Lived with Her Parents—Just Simply Vanish?” Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), March 5, 1989, p. A4; Susan Craighead, “Attorney's Slip of the Tongue Led to Break in Schaefer Case,” Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), March 1, 1990, p. A1; Susan Craighead, “Family Urge Bond Be Set at Affordable Level,” Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), February 1, 1990; Susan Craighead, “Police Focused Investigation on Ignatow from Start, Files Show,” Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), February 13, 1990, p. B1; Todd Murphy, “Ignatow Witness Pleads Guilty to Evidence Tampering,” Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), December 3, 1991, p. B1; Mary O'Doherty, “Threatening-Letter Trial Begins for Missing Woman's Boss,” Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), August 9, 1989, p. B1; Clay Ryce, “Schaefer's Boss Is Charged in Threat against Her Fiancée,” Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), March 26, 1989, p. B1; Leslie Scanlon, “Bizarre Murder Case Enters New Stage with Jury Selection,” Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), December 4, 1991, p. B3; Leslie Scanlon, “Schaefer Wasn't Going to Wed Ignatow,” Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), December 14, 1991, p. A5; Leslie Scanlon, “Shore-Ignatow to Tell Jury Her Side of Schaefer Case,” Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), December 17, 1991, B1; Leslie Scanlon, “I Did Not Kill Her; Ignatow's Ex-Lover Admits Helping Dig Hole for Victim,” Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), December 18, 1991, p. A1; Leslie Scanlon, “Ignatow Confesses to Killing Schaefer,” Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), October 3, 1992, p. A1; Leslie Scanlon, “Ignatow's Defense Rests without His Testimony in Murder Trial,” Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), December 21, 1991, p. A11; Leslie Scanlon, “Ignatow's Lawyer Blames Shore-Inlow; Former Girlfriend Described as Jealous,” Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), December 10, 1991, p. A1; Leslie Scanlon, “Kenton Jury Acquits Ignatow in Death of Fiancé[e] Schaefer,” Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), December 22, 1991, p. A1; Leslie Scanlon, “No Evidence Links Ignatow with Murder, Jurors Say,” Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), December 23, 1991, p. A1; Cary B. Willis, “FBI Recorded Murder Suspect in Brenda Schaefer Case,” Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), February 6, 1990, p. A1; Cary B. Willis, “Ignatow Lawyer Says Release of Tape Should Rule Out Death,” Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), February 7, 1990, p. A1; Cary B. Willis, “Top Schaefer-Case Suspect Talks to Federal Grand Jury,” Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), October 17, 1989, p. B3; Andrew Wolfson, “Court Won't Hear Ignatow Perjury Appeal; 2001 Conviction for Lying about Schaefer Stands,” Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), April 21, 2004, p. B5; Andrew Wolfson, “Finding Evidence in Home a Fluke,” Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), October 3, 1992, p. A1; Deborah Yetter, “Federal Grand Jury Indicts Ignatow on Perjury Charge,” Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), January 9, 1992, p. A1; Deborah Yetter, “Textbook Example; Ignatow Fits Profile of Sexual Sadist,” Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), October 11, 1992, p. A1; Paul Robinson and Michael Cahill, Law without Justice (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), chap. 6; Associated Press, “After Nearly Two Years in Prison, Ignatow, Cleared in Slaying, Free,” Daily News (Bowling Green, KY), December 24, 1991, p. 9A; Associated Press, “Man, Acquitted Once, Gets 8 Years in Death of Tortured Girlfriend,” Seattle Times, November 14, 1992, http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19921114&slug=1524598 (accessed June 8, 2017).

  45. Robinson and Cahill, Law without Justice, p. 161.

  46. Ibid., p. 162.

  47. Ibid., p. 164.

  48. Associated Press, “After Nearly Two Years in Prison.”

  49. Associated Press, “Man, Acquitted Once.”

  50. The facts of the narrative are derived from the following sources: Chuck Ashman and Pamela Trescott, Diplomatic Crime (New York: Knightsbridge Publishing, 1987); Robert Ferrigno, “There's Also a Short Arm of the Law,” Chicago Tribune, September 27, 1987, p. C1; Jo Ann Moriarty, States News Service, June 25, 1987; Eric Pianin, “Bounds of Diplomatic Immunity; Victims to Testify in Support of Helms Bill Limiting Exemptions,” Washington Post, August 5, 1987, https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1987/08/05/bounds-of-diplomatic-immunity/5d050b31-cb14-43b4-b28e-eb5634e8faed/?utm_term=.e92a697cb797 (accessed June 9, 2017).

  51. Pianin, “Bounds of Diplomatic Immunity.”

  52. Ferrigno, “There's Also a Short Arm of the Law.”

  53. Ferrigno, “There's Also a Short Arm of the Law.”

  54. Pianin, “Bounds of Diplomatic Immunity.”

  55. This narrative is drawn primarily from the following sources: Frank Fernandez, “Deltona Sex Sting Raises Entrapment Issue,” Daytona Beach News-Journal, January 12, 2014, http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/20140112/NEWS/140119803?p=1&tc=pg (accessed June 9, 2017); Frank Fernandez, “Jury Finds Longwood Man Arrested in Deltona Sex Sting Not Guilty,” Daytona Beach News-Journal, December 17, 2013, http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/20131217/news/131219504?p=1&tc=pg (accessed June 9, 2017); Gary Taylor, “Former Cop, High School Worker among 15 Arrested in Volusia Cyber Sting,” Orlando Sentinel, September 6, 2011, http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-09-06/news/os-volusia-sex-arrests-20110906_1_cyber-sting-high-school-worker-undercover-investigators (accessed June 9, 2017); “15 Arrested in Florida for Attempting to Hook Up with Minors for Sex,” My Death Space, December 26, 2011, http://mydeathspace.com/vb/showthread.php?23968-15-arrested-in-Forida-for-attempting-to-hook-up-with-minors-for-sex (accessed June 9, 2017).

  56. Fernandez, “Deltona Sex Sting.”

  57. Fernandez, “Jury Finds Longwood Man.”

  58. Fernandez, “Deltona Sex Sting.”

  59. Ibid. For the aftermath, see the postscript.

  60. This narrative is drawn primarily from the following sources: People v. Tomaski, 985 N.Y.S.2d 824 (Sup. Ct. 2012); “How to Get Away with Murder, Part Two,” Prosecutor's Discretion (blog), July 20, 2012, http://prosecutorsdiscretion.blogspot.com/2012/07/how-to-get-away-with-murder-part-two.html (accessed June 8, 2017); “How to Get Away with Murder, Part One,” Prosecutor's Discretion (blog), July 18, 2012, http://prosecutorsdiscretion.blogspot.com/2012/07/how-to-get-away-with-murder-part-one.html (accessed June 8, 2017); Samuel Newhouse, “Guilty Killer May Escape Prison through Legal Loophole,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 8, 2011, http://50.56.218.160/archive/category.php?category_id=4&id=47914 (accessed June 8, 2017).

  61. For a discussion, see Robinson and Cahill, Law without Justice, chaps. 9, 10.

  62. Philosopher John Rawls would have us consider the problem from the Original Position under the Veil of Ignorance. That is, consider the decision one would make in setting a legal rule or practice if one was deciding the issue before the society began and therefore before one knows one's place in that society would be. For example, one would not know whether one would become a serial killer or his next victim. From this perspective, how would one formulate the rules to properly balance the interests of controlling police and prosecutors or promoting the integrity of the criminal justice process, on the one hand, with our interest in punishing serious wrongdoing and maintaining the moral credibility of the criminal law, on the other hand? For many of the rules and practices illustrated in this chapter, it seems possible that the current US position would not survive the test of the Rawlsian Original Position. Who would support a rule that prohibits the detention of a serial killer and instead lets him torture and murder people with impunity? Who would support a rule that values Ignatow's peace of mind in being free from another prosecution after his perjury-induced acquittal as more important than his being punished for his torture, rape, and murder of Brenda Schaefer? And this is true even when one throws onto the scales the interests of other guilty offenders in positions similar to these perpetrators. A Rawlsian analysis might well support narrowing the doctrines of disillusionment to minimize cases like these.

  C
HAPTER 5. TEN RULES FOR THE MORAL VIGILANTE

  1. The narrative is drawn from the following sources: Dan Malone, “How the Legion Got Its Start: Group Began by Harassing Gays, Member Recalls,” Dallas Morning News, March 31, 1985, p. 1A; Joe McQuade, “Legion of Doom: Good Gone Bad,” Houston Chronicle, March 30, 1985; J. Michael Kennedy, “Legion of Doom Accused of Bombings, Threats: Gang of Top Students Puzzles Fort Worth,” Los Angeles Times, April 20, 1985, p. A6; Storer Rowley, “Best and Brightest Sow Fear, Call It Law,” Chicago Tribune, April 1, 1985, pp. 1–2; Selwyn Crawford, “Straight and Narrow: Ex-FW Student Vigilantes Have Left Trouble Behind,” Dallas Morning News, December 19, 1988, p. 15A.

  2. Malone, “How the Legion Got Its Start.”

  3. Kennedy, “Legion of Doom Accused.”

  4. The aftermaths of most of the stories in this book are provided in the postscript.

  5. The narrative is drawn from the following sources: Brian McGinty, “Shadows in St. James Park,” California History 57, no. 4, Winter (1978–79): 57; Carl Nolte, “A Lynching Remembered—Bay Area's Dark Day,” San Francisco Chronicle, November 23, 2008, p. A1; Anita Venezia, “The Hart Kidnapping and Midnight Lynching,” Alive Magazine, June 7, 2011, http://aliveeastbay.com/archives/the-hart-kidnapping-and-midnight-lynching/ (accessed June 13, 2017); San Francisco Chronicle, November 18, 1933, p. 1.

  6. San Francisco Chronicle, November 18, 1933, p. 1.

  7. Ibid.

  8. Ibid.

  9. This narrative is drawn primarily from the following sources: Tresa Baldas, “Steve Utash Mob Beating Victim out of Hospital,” Detroit Free Press, May 17, 2014; Monica Davey, “Five Plead Guilty to Beating a Motorist in Detroit,” New York Times, June 19, 2014, p. A15; “Bruce Wimbush Pleaded Guilty,” Click on Detroit, June 16, 2014, http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/suspect-in-steve-utash-beating-takes-plea-deal/26508856 (accessed June 13, 2017); Tara Edwards, “First Look at Steve Utash since Beating in Detroit,” WXYZ Detroit, May 13, 2014; Simon Shaykhet, “Additional Arrests Made in Brutal Detroit Beating of Driver Steve Utash,” WXYZ Detroit, April 8, 2014, http://www.wxyz.com/news/additional-arrest-made-in-brutal-detroit-beating-of-driver-steve-utash (accessed June 13, 2017); Tara Edwards, “Suspect in Steve Utash Beating Takes Plea Deal,” WXYZ Detroit, June 16, 2014, http://www.wxyz.com/news/first-look-at-steve-utash-since-beating-in-detroit (accessed June 13, 2017).