OK, so the first proper post didn't take too long. I saw this posted at the normally reliably reasonable Pickled Politics, and have to say I disagree.
While it's obviously acceptable for people to defend themselves from attack, and to, for example, chase burglars from their homes, the actions of Munir Hussain go far beyond any definition of reasonable force. To hit someone running away so hard they suffer permanent brain damage seems to me to be the very definition of 'taking the law into your own hands'. Understandable, in the circumstances, but not excusable.
Sunny Hundal is right about the inability of the law to protect people in countries such as India, and the absolute need for a proper, reliable, justice system. Which, despite many claims to the contrary, is more or less what we have in this country (certainly compared to the situation in many developing countries). That system will only be undermined if people are allowed to get away with battering other people in the street when they plainly don't need to.
I say more or less because the UK system is obviously not perfect. But under current conditions, again contrary to what tabloid leader writers would have us think, erring too frequently on the side of the offender is not one of its major faults. Not giving enough attention to the victims of certain crimes, such as rape, is. Those two observations are not really at odds, either, but no time for that now.
