My first two novels feature the character Emily Stone, a woman who takes it upon herself to track down violent criminals in her community and quietly collects the evidence that will bring them to justice. She then leaves all of the surveillance she has gathered with the local police department and slips away anonymously. She certainly could be considered a vigilante, as she acts outside of the authority of law and puts herself in danger with every pedophile and murderer she follows. But, she continues on with her work because she believes in the need for justice.
A Tennessee woman recently had her own moment with vigilante justice, but her interaction with the alleged criminals was a bit more direct. Georgia Avo, a 68-year-old woman who lives in Nashville, heard people trying to break into her home around 2:30am last weekend armed with crowbars and a pistol. She had her gun ready when the four men broke through the door and buckshot went flying. She managed to hit two of the intruders, with one of them getting hit in the eye and losing part of his index finger, before all of the men fled.
All four of the men were arrested after showing up at Vanderbilt University Medical Center to get care for the wounded duo. Three of the men are now sitting in the jail with the four waiting to be charged upon his release from the hospital.
What do you think of this woman’s story? She really felt that it was either her or them in that moment and she may very well have been right. Can you imagine yourself reacting with the same fierce defense of your home if such a terrifying moment arrived?
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Books: Compulsion = Dead Game = Silent Partner = Screenwriting
Author Jennifer Chase 
I myself would have no hesitation to do the same thing. However, there are too many stories of the bad guy suing the victim for damages. The laws vary from state to state, but in all cases it comes down to the victim to spend too much time, anguish and money defending his right to defend his home.
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I could see the man who was injured in the eye suing the woman (or person) who defended their home here in California. That’s unfortunate, but the way the laws and attorneys work in this state.
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Your MC sounds awesome! I love vigilantes. As to the woman in the article I think if I had a gun I would shoot an intruder(s). But without a gun I probably would hide and call the police.
Last year in my criminal law class we talked about defense of home. In some states it actually would be unjustified to use deadly force unless the intruders were using deadly force. So if she thought they were only trying to rob her and not kill or maim her she couldn’t have shot them (and gotten away with it.) Probably could have taken her chances with a jury though.
We also had this one torts case where a robber got shot in the thigh by a booby trap gun in a farm in Iowa and the thief sued the farmer. When asked what he would do differently the farmer said he would have aimed higher 🙂
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