Ellie Nesler
Elena Starr Nesler was an American woman known for shooting and killing Daniel Mark Driver in a courtroom on April 2, 1993, after Driver had been accused of molesting her son. Her case was reported on throughout the United States, and the Associated Press wrote that the incident "sparked a national debate about vigilantism".
Killing of Daniel Mark Driver
Nesler made headlines on April 2, 1993, when she killed Daniel Mark Driver - who had been accused of sexually abusing five boys, including Nesler's then-six-year-old son, William - in the courtroom of the Jamestown Justice Court. She fired five shots into Driver's head, killing him instantly. Driver had previous convictions for child molestation.According to Jon Thurber of the Los Angeles Times, the finding that Nesler was under the influence of methamphetamine when she killed Driver caused the "sympathetic portrait" of herself portrayed by her defense team to "erode". She served 3 1/2 years in jail as her case wended its way through trial and appeal before she pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Judge William Polley sentenced her to 10 years in prison, describing the murder of Driver as "nothing more than an execution." Nesler was released from prison in 1997.