GUILTY UK - Michael Pleasted, 77, stabbed to death, Canning Town, London, 28 Nov 2014

A British woman has murdered a man she was previously friendly with once he was charged with paedophile offenses against boys under 13. She later handed herself in to police......

http://www.london24.com/news/crime/...e_on_east_london_estate_court_hears_1_4125598

This opens up so many issues regarding taking the law into one's own hands, mitigating factors, innocent until proven guilty, whether the guy - if guilty - deserved this, and whether the woman had any moral right to impose her own justice.

What if someone is murdered for being a monster? Does that lessen the crime of murder in any way?

And then there is the protection issue. Since everyone has a right to be treated as innocent until proven guilty, should not this man have been offered some protection until such time as he was convicted in a court of law?

And then, should any person guilty of the murder of anybody - even a monster - be considered potentially dangerous? After all, most of us surely hate paedophiles, but very few of us would go out and stab one to death, at least not if our own loved ones were not their victims. Most of us would let the courts deal with it.

From September:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/woman-jailed-stabbing-convicted-paedophile-6540117

Sarah Sands, 32, was handed a three and a half year jail term at the Old Bailey for killing her 77-year-old neighbour Michael Pleasted.

She was cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter by reason of loss of control at an earlier hearing.

During the trial it emerged that Pleasted, who also went by the name of Robin Moult, had 24 previous convictions for sexual offences between 1970 and 1991.

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Paedophile killer Sarah Sands' sentence extended
January 22nd 2016

[...]

Sands' sentence was referred by the Attorney General after 30 members of the public complained about its original length.

At the time he [the Judge] took into account the fact she was a mother, had shown remorse and had never denied the killing.

But the three judges sitting at the Court of Appeal ruled that because Sands had taken a knife with her when she went to Pleasted's flat it meant the starting point for sentencing should have been 10 years.

Mitigating factors reduced it to seven-and-a-half years.

Eight years ago, Sarah Sands stabbed a convicted paedophile to death. Speaking together for the first time, her three sons tell BBC News they were all sexually abused by him, and how they feel now about their mother's crime.

Documentary/interview about this case

I have to say if this had happened to my children then I would've killed him too.

I have to say if this had happened to my children then I would've killed him too.

HollyHunter9 said:

I have to say if this had happened to my children then I would've killed him too.

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Snap! I think the family were awfully let down by the system. How he was allowed to live opposite them while awaiting trial I'll never understand!