How is this possible? Vigilantism is Celebrated and Justice is Ignored

In a deeply troubling display of misplaced outrage, protestors gathered outside the Elkhart County Courthouse in Goshen, Indiana last week—not to denounce murder, but to defend it. They rallied not in support of justice, but to glorify vigilantism. Signs reading “Free Nic” and “Nick Stanley Doesn’t Deserve Jail” were hoisted by individuals who believe that the accused killer of a man named Allen Cogswell should be praised, not prosecuted.

Let’s unpack this… Cogswell, who was recently released from prison and labeled a sex offender, was shot and killed at a motel on June 24. The accused, Nicholas Stanley, is reportedly related to one of the victims in Cogswell’s past case. While the pain and trauma that come with sexual abuse are real and lasting—and deserving of compassion and support—what is being endorsed here is not healing. It’s revenge.

The most alarming aspect of this protest is the open call for stricter punishment for the victim of the murder. Yes, you read that right. A man was murdered, and the response from the crowd was not to demand accountability, but to say he deserved it—and to call for harsher penalties for registrants. How is that even logically possible?

This is the horrifying reality of public registries and the mob mentality they encourage. The registry doesn’t just track people; it paints a target on their backs. It fuels vigilante violence by branding individuals with a modern-day scarlet letter—ignoring rehabilitation, reform, or redemption.

People like Cogswell serve their time. But because their names, faces, and locations are published and broadcasted with the click of a button, they never stop being punished—by neighbors, landlords, employers, and in this case, by a man with a gun. Murder is murder. There is no justification for it, no matter what the criminal history of the victim. If we start condoning homicide as a form of “justice,” where does it stop? Who gets to decide whose life is worth taking? A gang of bikers with a Facebook page?

Articles like this one only serve one purpose; to escalate the dangerous belief that those on the registry are subhuman, and therefore disposable. The law doesn’t work that way. Nor should it. What kind of society do we live in where the news media celebrates vigilantism. In addition to contacting WNDU News and suggesting they post an op-ed, we should be asking politicians (who now have another example of how the registry is being used as a hit list), why they make it so easy for a vigilante to find and execute this man?

We are by no means excusing the victim’s past crimes. We empathize with victim’s trauma. But we also don’t excuse murder. Justice in this country comes from a courtroom, not a lynch mob.