Free Republic

MADISON, Conn. (PIX11) – A beachgoer thought she was stopping a disturbing crime in progress, but instead found herself in handcuffs. When Andrea Mears saw a man piloting a drone at a public Connecticut beach, she thought he was surreptitiously taking pictures of bikini-clad women, so she called the police.

Over at the New York Times ”Opinionator” blog, Firmin DeBrander, an associate professor at the Maryland Institute College of Art, takes issue with a post I wrote last year outlining the biblical and natural-law right of self-defense. My argument was rather simple: From the Noahic Covenant to the New Testament, there were ample biblical examples of self-defense being not only permitted but in some cases actually mandated. I also – borrowing from Jim Lindgren’s excellent work at the Volokh Conspiracy — quoted John Locke for the proposition that the right of self defense wasn’t just a biblical right but...

Sideshows are rearing their ugly head once again in Oakland. Take a look at this video shot in the aftermath of a crash during a West Oakland sideshow, showing a hostile crowd accosting a woman they believe was responsible. (Warning: profane language) Oakland police said the incident happened about 4:15 a.m. Saturday on the 2500 block of Middle Harbor Road at the Port of Oakland. A woman in a burgundy Mazda apparently was following too closely as the driver of a white Chevy Camaro was “doing donuts,” or spinning around in circles, which is typical sideshow behavior

“Elderly couple abandons their home after address is posted on Twitter as that of George Zimmerman” read the headline of an article yesterday in the Orlando Sentinel. Spike Lee’s twitter account went into Radio Silence yesterday morning after it was revealed he mistakenly tweeted to over 247,000 twitter followers the address of an elderly Florida couple instead of George Zimmerman’s address, the man who shot Trayvon Martin. Mr. Lee’s tweet resulted in hate mail, strangers dropping by, and other disturbances that panicked the couple who then fled from their home for fear of their lives. It remains to be seen...

<p>Vigilante justice has come to Seattle, and the caped crusaders drive a Kia.</p> <p>Seattle police say a group of self-described superheroes have been patrolling the streets at night trying to save people from crime. They call themselves the Rain City Superhero Movement and say they're part of a nationwide movement of real-life crime fighters.</p>

Ukiah, Calif. (AP) -- A Northern California man who fatally shot a family friend accused of molesting him for years was sentenced Tuesday to nine years in prison in the vigilante shooting. Aaron Vargas, 32, was sentenced after pleading no contest to voluntary manslaughter in the death of 63-year-old Darrell McNeill.Vargas said McNeill began sexually abusing him when he was 11 . . . several other people ... came forward to say McNeill had molested them.Hundreds of supporters ... asked authorities for leniency for the shooter.. . . Judge Ronald Brown said he imposed the harsher sentence because he believed...

Political content in this weekend’s new movies at the theater: A Nightmare On Elm Street//Furry Vengeance [leftist greenie alert]//Harry Brown [conservative Dirty Harry alert]//Please Give [leftist anti-consumerism alert]//The Human Centipede [icky horror movie alert] plus some old dvds: Face/Off//The Forgotten//Fast Times at Ridgemont High//Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her//Saved! [anti-Fundamentalist Christian alert]

SAO PAULO, Brazil — In one murder after another, the "Canal Livre" crime TV show had an uncanny knack for being first on the scene, gathering graphic footage of the victim. Too uncanny, say police, who are investigating the show's host, state legislator Wallace Souza, on suspicion of commissioning at least five of the murders to boost his ratings and prove his claim that Brazil's Amazon region is awash in violent crime. Police also have accused Souza of drug trafficking. "The order to execute always came from the legislator and his son, who then alerted the TV crews to get...

Breaking. Per CBS radio news.. the crew has regained control of the ship throwing three pirates overboard and capturing one.. Will post more.. Breaking

STOCKTON - A retired truck driver and Vietnam War veteran said Monday that he is forming an armed militia - mostly men with rifles and armbands, four to a car - to patrol Stockton this summer, when at least 43 police officers are to be laid off.

For all the talk of the Internet's threat to authoritarian regimes, China's Communist Party has capably rebuffed the Web's challenge to its rule. But a growing trend on the Chinese Internet could make life unpleasant for a handful of government bureaucrats who offend the cybercitizenry.

On the day that fliers announced a registered sex offender had moved into a Puyallup neighborhood, a woman welcomed him with an aluminum baseball bat. Baldwin (Pierce County Sheriff's Office picture)The 7-foot-3 man was beaten so badly, medics transported him to a hospital. "I kept swingin' and swingin' and swingin," court documents say Tammy Gibson told police, who arrested her in Cottonwood Mobile Home Park. Gibson has been charged with second-degree assault and felony harassment

Police: Burned, Headless Body Of Sex Offender FoundPOSTED: 12:08 pm EST November 8, 2007 UPDATED: 3:52 pm EST November 8, 2007 NORTHVILLE TOWNSHIP -- Construction crews found a torched and headless body Thursday morning on Hidden Ridge Drive in Northville Township. Police were able to identify the body as 26-year-old Daniel Gene-Vincent Sorensen by using a partial fingerprint technique, despite the severe burns on Sorensen’s hands. Police said the severely burned hands seemed to be an effort to hide his identity. Police confirmed that Sorensen was a registered sex offender. A neighbor called to report a fire on Wednesday night,...

Vigilante justice has become common in Bihar Pics: Prashant Ravi Vigilante justice appears to have become the order of the day in the lawless northern Indian state of Bihar.The latest incident in which 10 men suspected to be thieves were lynched by a group of villagers in Vaishali district on Thursday underscored the people's frustration with the police. The villagers said that they were fed up with rising theft for the last two months in spite of informing the police regularly. "But when the police did not take any action we started patrolling our village ourselves to catch the...

A crowd attacked and killed a passenger in a vehicle that had struck and injured a child, police said Wednesday. Police believe 2,000 to 3,000 people were in the area for a Juneteenth celebration when the attack occurred Tuesday night. The man who was killed had been trying to stop the group from attacking the vehicle's driver when the crowd turned on him, authorities said. The Austin Police Department identified the victim as David Rivas Morales, 40. The child was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Police spokeswoman Toni Chovonetz said she had no further information, including how...

June 20, 2007, 12:30PM Angry crowd kills man riding in car that struck child By LIZ AUSTIN PETERSON Associated Press AUSTIN — A crowd attacked and killed a passenger in a vehicle that had struck and injured a child, police said today. The man who was killed Tuesday night had been trying to stop the group from attacking the vehicle's driver when the crowd turned on him, authorities said. The Austin Police Department identified the victim as David Rivas Morales, 40, of Austin. The child was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The beating began after the car...

"I've been sentenced for a D.U.I. offense. My 3rd one. When I first came to prison, I had no idea what to expect. Certainly none of this. I'm a tall white male, who unfortunately has a small amount of feminine characteristics. And very shy. These characteristics have got me raped so many times I have no more feelings physically. I have been raped by up to 5 black men and two white men at a time. I've had knifes at my head and throat. I had fought and been beat so hard that I didn't ever think I'd see straight...

Has Chris Matthews watched one too many episodes of "Oz," the hyper-graphic HBO original series about prison life? Discussing the Scooter Libby trial on the 7 PM ET edition of this evening's Hardball, Chris spun a sanguine scenario in which Libby, facing the prospect of a long prison sentence in a vulnerable environment, might turn on Vice-President Cheney. Matthews: "If Scooter's convicted, if you're looking at the number of counts facing him. If that jury really does go to town -- and I hope they're not watching -- and hits him with four or five counts, they add up...

THERE are some crimes that even the police do not seem keen to solve. Armed with Eskies, the residents of the Victorian town of Meringur danced and drank beer as they watched flames engulf the home of Terrence Allan Ellis last Sunday night. Ellis, a 52-year-old alcoholic and former vagrant, was convicted two weeks ago of raping a young girl. Police have quizzed residents over the arson attack and confirmed the fire was suspicious. While nobody in Meringur is owning up to the crime, as many as 40 people from the area celebrated at the time. Even the victim, whom...

An inmate serving a life term for molesting and killing a 10-year-old girl named Katie somehow got "Katie's Revenge" tattooed across his forehead, and prison authorities were trying to determine how it happened. The Indiana Department of Correction placed Anthony Ray Stockelman, 39, in protective custody away from the general inmate population last weekend after authorities discovered the tattoo, said Rich Larsen, a spokesman for the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility. Stockelman was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to abducting, molesting and killing Katlyn "Katie" Collman. Katie was missing for five days before her body was found Jan....