The whole way in which harsh justice works is that it is illegal in itself, and I fully agree that it should stay illegal...even though I support the UK bringing back the death penalty in the form of public hanging. Harsh justice happens when the law fails, and it has failed so many times that vigilante justice has become quite common in some areas. The groups and individuals who do this were asked...by the community who have just had enough of being dictated to by a soft political system. These guys didn't just decide to become vigilantes one day, while others go around with the romantic notion of wearing a black cape and mask. Nothing so romantic I can assure ye.
It's the community itself that demands this action be taken, so how do you appeal to those people? Normal law abiding people, more or less...many of them go to church, have 9 to 5 regular jobs, 2 cars, a mortgage bla bla whatever "normal" people have these days...these are the people who have lost faith in law and order. Our politicians and our law makers use the same line you do, but it's not enough and the people want more and they want it now...not 5 years down the line...now.
Ye know the police don't even bother appealing fer witnesses when the likes of punishment beatings take place on the estate? They learned long ago that witnesses are non existent either because they support the paramilitaries or they simply fear the consequences should they start telling tales on the neighbors. This happens because the law has failed and continues to fail and so the community itself turns to whatever alternatives exist. By all means, argue up a solution for the likes of my estate...there is no house breaking here...no car crimes, no joyriding, no muggings, no sexual assaults and no kids being bullied. Following your advice means welcoming all that lovely stuff back into our community because criminals have no fear of the law here...they fear the community itself. Even vandalism of the kids playground is not tolerated.
So by all means...how would you appeal to this community for example? Because as much as you dislike this form of harsh justice, it works. So without fairly fundamental and profound changes in the law, yer argument will be to stop doing what we do and allow the worst of the worst to move back into our community and do as they please, whilst hoping the keystone cops keep our streets and children safe. Ye do see how this looks right? Changing the law isn't a request, its a demand...a demand that translates into "do it or this continues" There is no compromise here, no deals to be made...we have been trying to get deals over the course of half a century and all that happens is our community suffers more, because of decisions made elsewhere.
Ye want us to change but offer nothing in return...nothing. The law can barely deal with day to day crime as it is, so how exactly are they gonna stop harsh justice when they can't even deal with petty stuff efficiently? They been trying for decades to stop it and they have failed quite spectacularly.
Bottom line is, the law has to change...otherwise we won't.
As fer being resettled into society when ye have a record. I've been asked to leave city center restaurants because of the tattoos on my arms and neck, the short receding hairline that shows the scars of a violent past. I get stopped when driving by cops who know me and have my car searched at the side of the road while me and my daughter stand in the rain...even though I turned my back on violence over 15 years ago, they take any opportunity they can to make life difficult fer me. I can't emigrate to canada...that being the plan if we got dragged back into the EU...my daughter can go but not me because of my past. Can't get a job unless it's low paid and the boss a personal friend of mine...sorta more along the lines of an old m8 doing a favor.
In short, society has done absolutely nothing to resettle me...if anything, they made it as hard as possible and everything I have in my life now, I had to fight tooth and nail for. I walked away from a past life and all society has done in the last 15 years is make my life as hard as it was possible to make it. I know all about discrimination I can assure ye of that. The part where people judge ye on first sight is something I see every single day...so I really don't feel as though I owe "society" a single damned thing. Especially not when ye see guys who were guilty of far worse things in the 70s and 8os of far worse atrocities now in politics with nice big houses...funny how that happened, wouldn't ye agree? Who was it said crime doesn't pay? Trust me...it does so long as yer smart enough to know how the system really works ^^