On April 2nd 1993, Ellie Nesler took the law into her own hands in a Northern California courtroom, by shooting to death Daniel Driver in the head and neck 5 times.

35-year-old Daniel Driver was a Christian camp employee who in the summer of 1988 allegedly abused the then 6-year-old son of Ellie Nesler, Willie Nesler.

Ellie Nesler was praised by some as a protective mother, driven to act by the prospect of having her traumatised son testify against Driver in open court.

Others criticised her for brushing aside the legal system and taking the law into her own hands, which would then spark a national debate about Vigilantism.

The sympathetic portrait of Ellie Nesler painted by her defence team began to disappear however within weeks of the crime when tests found Ellie to have been high on methamphetamine at the time of the shooting. It had also come to light that Ellie had a criminal record with a conviction at 18 for auto theft and had served several months in a California Youth Authority facility.

Had Ellie Nesler gone too far, or was she simply protecting her son and the world from a very dangerous man?