Ellie Nesler: 1952 — 2008
December 31st, 2008 | by Tom Harper |“Who?” I don’t know how much fame or publicity Ellie Nesler got outside of California. If you ever saw A Time To Kill — she did in real life what Samuel L. Jackson did in that movie.
In April 1993, Ellie Nesler shot and killed Daniel Driver in a California courtroom. Driver was on trial for molesting Ellie Nesler’s 7-year-old son, and three other boys, at a Christian camp.
During the trial it was revealed that several years earlier, Daniel Driver had pleaded guilty to numerous charges of child molestation. But he was given probation after the judge was bombarded with letters from members of Driver’s church, all vouching for his “character.”
Ellie Nesler made certain that Daniel Driver would never strike again.
Ellie Nesler wasn’t a saint. She had a prior criminal record, she was high on meth when she shot Daniel Driver, and after she served time for manslaughter for killing Driver, she was jailed again on meth charges (technically, possession of 10,000 pseudoephedrine tablets). But she did what practically anybody, regardless of political views or personality type, would do in that situation — or at least would fantasize about doing.
Rightly or wrongly, the vigilante is a powerful archetype. Dirty Harry, Charles Bronson in Death Wish, Sally Field in An Eye For An Eye, Dustin Hoffman in Straw Dogs — Ellie Nesler was the real-life version of these movie heroes.
She died of cancer last Friday.
R.I.P.
6 Responses to “Ellie Nesler: 1952 — 2008”
By Craig R. Harmon on Dec 31, 2008 | Reply
Tough call. The pull for revenge is strong and deeply embedded. If I caught the sob doing my child, I’d certainly kill him and face whatever consequences a jury thought a parent under such conditions ought to face, protecting his child from a predator. However, in court, the man in custody, facing due process, is another thing entirely. That’s just pure revenge and while understandable, we can’t build a society on revenge or we get Hatfields vs. McCoys. As imperfect as any legal system is, vigilantism can’t be tolerated either.
On the other hand, both Christian Churches and judges have tended to be way to lenient on child molesters. We can’t be giving molesters probation and expect our citizenry to contain their moral outrage or their vigilantist urges. If judges won’t protect our children, we will. My fear is that, after shooting the molester who was given probation, the judge will be next…
Come to think of it, maybe the judge who gave the molester probation should have been shot first. Judges must be made to understand that people will not allow them (judges) to bleed their hearts out at the expense of their (the peoples’) children. If judges cannot, in good conscience, lock up molesters for society’s own good they had better get the hell off the bench.
By Tom Harper on Dec 31, 2008 | Reply
Craig, good comment. I can’t think of anything to disagree with.
By Craig R. Harmon on Dec 31, 2008 | Reply
Well, maybe the “maybe the judge who gave the molester probation should have been shot first” part was a tad over some line or another. Sounds like I’m advocating shooting judges who give molesters probation…indeed the more I read that, the more it sounds like that and I certainly don’t want to advocate shooting judges under any circumstances. Merely that I think the societal consequences of giving confessed molesters probation are greater than whatever good the judge thought he or she was serving when he or she gave out probation to a confessed molester, no matter how many good references he got from however many good Christians.
By Craig R. Harmon on Dec 31, 2008 | Reply
I’m so contrary, I’ll argue with myself if no one else will argue with me.
By Lisa on Dec 31, 2008 | Reply
I’m so contrary, I’ll argue with myself if no one else will argue with me
As long as you don’t do it outloud Craig,lol!!!!
By steve on Dec 31, 2008 | Reply
I grew up and live back in her neck of the woods. There are a bunch of meth addicted/Christian/Republican/Gun lovers in Calaveras and Tuolumne Counties.
You ought to see a Skynyrd concert up here!!! Oh man!!! The Confederate South lives in Northern California’s foothills.
She got off because of the jury pool.