Have we decided upon a new kind of justice?

Frontiersman editorial board

With Thursday's indictment of Phillip Mielke for the April 24 shooting deaths of Chris Palmer and Frank Jones, the debate over justice and moral imperatives has picked up steam around the Valley. The outcry of support for Mielke, who is a pastor in Big Lake, has been loud and unflinching. It is understandable that a community would seek to support a neighbor who is undoubtedly enduring a difficult and traumatic time. It is understandable that the community would seek to comfort Mielke and his family, since we can all only imagine how difficult his situation must be.

What is difficult to understand, however, is that so many in the community are not speaking out with compassion for a man who must come to grips with two deaths at his hand. Many of the voices crying out in support of Mielke are speaking of a hero who has rid their community of a scourge and has meted out what some call justice in a community enduring a rash of burglaries.

These men, many Mielke supporters have said, were committing a crime. They were no angels, and they knew the risks they were taking as criminals. Mielke, they say, was only protecting his church. All of that would seem to be true, but does any of it really satisfy our definition of justice? Do we really feel safer living in a community where suspected criminals can be gunned down by average citizens?

Before you answer that, consider some of the possible consequences that exist in such a vigilante society. Suppose the people in that church basement had not been burglars, but high school seniors performing a prank, or a homeless person looking for a place to stay. What if it had been a troubled parishioner seeking refuge? Is Philip Mielke, or any of us, trained enough in police work to make that kind of call under stressful circumstances? Remember that Mielke was not protecting his home or his family. These men were in the church, and Mielke armed himself and went to the church to confront them.

As much as we can identify with Mielke's frustration, it is critical that we remember he was protecting a building, and two men are dead as a result. It's possible these men weren't upstanding citizens. Maybe they were committing a crime. They were also members of our society, and if our society is to function properly -- if any of us is to be safe -- they were entitled to a fair trial and to punishment commensurate with their crimes. If we truly believe that justice has been served in this case, then perhaps it is time to save the tax money that supports our justice system and invest in ammunition. If that's the choice we make, we can only hope you don't find yourself accidentally on the wrong side of a fence.