Father Who Killed Child Molester Acted Understandably

June 21, 2012 RSS Feed Print

Ellie Nesler, center, speaks to the media July 13, 1993 outside of the Superior Court of Tuolumne County in Sonora, Calif., on the first day of her trial on charges of murdering her son's alleged molester.

Earlier this month in June, in the state of Texas, a 24-year-old father reportedly heard his 5-year-old daughter screaming on his farm. He ran toward his barn and saw a man, allegedly molesting his daughter. The man's name was Jesus Mora Flores. The father reportedly pulled the man off his daughter and beat him….to death. The death was ruled a homicide. The coroner's report stated Flores died due to blunt force trauma to the head and neck.

The father phoned 911. Two of the little girl's relatives, an aunt and her grandfather, tried to revive Flores while they waited for the first responders to arrive on the scene. On the 911 call, the father is heard saying, "Hurry, he's dying on me!"

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The District Attorney in the state of Texas opted not to press charges. It was decided this was not self defense, but defense of his daughter and the man was on his property.

When I heard about this, as I had just finished my television appearance on Fox News Channel, it reminded me of Ellie Nesler. Nesler had gone into a courtroom in California and shot the man alleged of molesting her son and three other boys. She shot him five times in the head, and he died instantly. She was charged and served a few years in prison.

Some say that both of these are examples of vigilante justice. Some say Nesler's crime was premeditated, unlike the father in Texas. Some worry that a lack of charges against this father will result in more parents taking the law into their own hands. And of course, some feel that Flores, as despicable as what he was alleged to be doing was, did deserve his day in court: Innocent until proven guilty.

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Instead of asking "What Would Jesus Do?," I asked that of my listeners on my radio show. And then I had to ponder that question myself. My answer? Last week when I was on Hannity, host Sean Hannity asked me if I owned a gun. I told him no. He asked what I would do if someone were attacking my children. I told him I didn't need a weapon. Although I abhor violence, although I love justice, and although I strongly believe in innocent until proven guilty and everyone's right to due process, I'm a mom. And as I said on television last week, Sarah Palin might be a grizzly bear, but I'm a lioness.

If I had found that man doing that to my daughter, I must admit, although I'm not proud of it, I would have done what that father did and more.