One Law for Some...

Whilst I certainly don't condone the violent crime which allegedly led this man to behave the way he did, I can't help but wonder how a vigilante would be treated by a judge under other circumstances - nowhere near as leniently, I imagine.

From This is Lincolnshire:

A man who went on the "rampage" with an axe after he was the victim of a racial assault has been spared jail by a judge.

Abdirahman Galayr, 28, from Lincoln, armed himself with the weapon after being punched and kicked by three men at a flat on the Birchwood estate.

The city's crown court heard how a dog walker spotted him brandishing the axe outside one of his attackers' homes in Mareham Close.

Catherine Chasemore, prosecuting, said Galayr was "loud and aggressive" and smashed the axe against the front door of the property.

He then struck the window in the door five times, smashing it and leaving the dog walker so scared that he didn't dare walk past the scene.

When police arrived Galayr refused to the tell them what had happened but kept muttering the word "revenge", said Miss Chasemore.

The officers could see he was injured and took him to hospital for treatment before he was questioned about the axe attack.

During interview he admitted he went to the fetch the weapon, which he used for cutting wood, after he was beaten up by the three men.

Justin Atkinson, mitigating, said Galayr had been drinking at a friend's flat when the trio appeared and began hurling racist abuse at him.

He said threats had been made about Galayr's wife and children.

Galayr, of Luton Close, Lincoln, pleaded guilty to an offence of possessing a bladed article as a result of the incident on July 12 this year.

Judge Peter Clark jailed him for eight months but suspended the sentence for 18 months.