When accused executioner Luigi Mangione shot Unitedhealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in the back in NYC in December, many people were not horrified, but celebratory. Thompson represented corporate greed in the healthcare industry, and people have been simmering with rage about denied claims for decades. While this rage is understandable, is it good for a democracy for people to be the judge, jury and executioner? Host and freelance journalist Darisse Smith interviews Professor Jon Michaels of the UCLA School of Law, a specialist in constitutional and national security law, as well as the co-author of "Vigilante Nation," with David Noll.

They discuss several prominent cases of vigilante justice in addition to Luigi Mangione, such as the cases of Daniel Penny and Kyle Rittenhouse. While Penny and Rittenhouse are examples of the more conventional view of vigilante justice, Darisse and Professor Michaels discuss the implications of state-sponsored vigilante justice, such as when the government incentivizes private citizens to turn each other in, like with Texas' 6-week abortion ban, SB-8. Their discussion further addresses the rise of political violence, the moral and psychological motivations behind vigilante actions, and the potential societal and democratic repercussions.

#VigilanteJustice #VigilanteNation #CriminalJustice #LawAndOrder #SocialIssues #JournalismPodcast #CurrentEvents #Democracy #LegalDiscussion #LawProfessorInterview #SocialJustice #LuigiMangione #DanielPenny #KyleRittenhouse #SB8