A crowd surrounded a dying young man lying in a pool of blood with bruises all over his body. He seemed to be in his mid-twenties, tall, dark and strong looking. The surrounding crowd rained insults on him; others looked on with sorry looking faces. What has this young man done to warrant such a horrific treatment even to the point of death? They thought aloud. The answer was not farfetched. He had snatched a young lady’s handbag containing some money, phone, camera and some other items. Earlier on, he had broken into someone’s house and at gun point, swept his victims of all their monies. The police had been searching for him for some time now. But there he is, motionless, breathless on the ground, in a pool of blood, beaten to pulp and left to die. In a related situation, a middle aged man bumped into an angry mob on his way home from work and the mob descended on him, upon suspicion that he is the thief they are after. The victim of the theft fortunately came to his rescue. The story would have been different if this victim had not arrived. These scenarios, I know, are not new to any Ghanaian, be it an adult or a child. Truly, the frequency of robbery has been a major contributor to instant justice or lynching and sometimes innocent people fall victims to this heinous act. Undoubtedly, this menace has several other causes that must be acknowledged and addressed in order to finding a lasting solution. “Pardon one offence and you will encourage the commission of many”, this seems to be one of the factors that incite people into lynching suspected criminals. To most Ghanaians, the justice system available to grieving parties is nothing to write home about. Both the police and the judiciary seemed not to be performing to the expectation of the public, resulting in the latter’s loss of trust and confidence in our penal institutions. They therefore take the law into their own hands, believing, rather erroneously that, that is a better option. For instance, some people opine that, “if I report a criminal to the police and the next minute he is out on the streets as a free man, why then do I report him in the first place” Others hold the view that “the courts are too slow in delivering justice to the people, so it serves a better purpose to take the law into our own hands”. All these grievances are legitimate, but does not constitute in my humble opinion, enough grounds to take the life of another human being, even if that person is a criminal and poses a threat to others in society. Perpetrators of this act will legitimize their action, especially if the victim is truly an armed robber. But none of them will be forgiven if through this 'senseless over zealousness', an innocent life, like that of the old man, is lost. I don’t know if those perpetrators have thought of why it is stated in the Bible, specifically, in the Ten Commandments that “do not murder”. Didn’t God know there would be people in society who would like to make life uncomfortable for others? I am sure he did and he gave such a command in expectation that we as humans will to obey. This issue of mob justice appears to have gained grounds on the Ghanaian social setup to the extent that perpetrators of such acts see nothing wrong with it. Even when the media as well as human rights activists try to educate the public about this wrong conduct, they are scornfully insulted by most members of society. One question which still remains unanswered is the justifiability of mob justice. What is it that is justifiable about this inhuman act to warrant the name JUSTICE? The right to life, as far as I am concerned, is a natural right given by God to every human being whether a criminal or not and this has to be respected by all persons in society. Over the years, instant Justice has not only led to the loss of lives including innocent ones but has also contributed in bits to a state of lawlessness in this country, negating, in the process, Ghana’s reputation to the rest of the world in championing the course of human rights. It is ironical, though, that in this 21st Century, where all should be moving away from such a barbaric practice, a section of our society rather accepts this social canker as a justifiable norm and are fast sinking in it. All these narrow down to the fact that our safety as individuals is not guaranteed, as we all stand the chance of becoming victims of this unpardonable act. By:Dorcas Efe Mensah