Nebraska Man Arrested For Shooting Pedophile
Kris Malysz
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James Fairbanks of Omaha, Nebraska, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder on Tuesday for the killing of a pedophile on the sex offender registry after he confessed to the action.
Fairbanks, a local middle school employee in Omaha, claims to have killed Mattieo Condoluci, who was found dead in his house, after Fairbanks discovered the latter was on a sex offender registry for sexually abusing children and feared that he would offend again.
He laid out his motivations in an email to the media, describing how he discovered what Condoluci had done while researching a neighborhood he was considering moving into. He wrote:
“I drove by and to my horror he was standing in his driveway pretending to wash his truck (no soap or water just a rag) while staring at a group of children playing in the street. I watched him for a few minutes and just felt sick to my stomach. He just kept staring at them. The kids thankfully left and he went inside. I went to drive away and noticed to my amazement this twice convicted sex offender had a playground set in his backyard! No fence. Just a slide and a play house. I felt sick to my stomach.”
Fairbanks further said that the experience “agonized” and left him sleepless for days, and he finally came to the conclusion that he “couldn’t in good conscience allow him to do it to anyone else while I had the means to stop him.” He states he is “willing to turn myself in even though I’m confident I wouldn’t be caught.”
County Attorney Brenda Beadle disparaged the action, saying that Fairbanks “doesn’t get to be the judge and jury,” and she wouldn’t “classify somebody who would kill somebody in cold blood a hero.”
However, this is exactly what many have done. He was reportedly greeted with a standing ovation from other inmates at the Douglas County jail, and there has been an outpouring of support on social media, and multiple attempts to fundraise for his legal fees, which have all been shut down.
Even Amanda Henry, Condoluci’s daughter, expressed understanding for the action, calling her father a “monster” and stating that she was not at all surprised to hear that someone had done this, adding that “children are much safer now.”
She also supports a petition, currently at over 13,000 signatures and counting, for President Trump to pardon Fairbanks.
Despite some history of domestic disagreement, his ex-wife, Kelly Tamayo, largely came to his defense, saying that he called her after he did the deed to confess and state his intention to turn himself in. She described her ex-husband as a “protector” who cared deeply for his own family and children and likely was “overwhelmed by the thought that this man was going to offend again.” She also mentioned that he had often worked with very “troubled” kids himself, and “was able to talk with them and calm them down.”
In his email to the media, Fairbanks described that part of his outrage came from knowing that Condoluci, responsible for abusing multiple children including one who later died of a drug overdose, only served a two year prison sentence. He further remarked that “in this messed up judicial system… I will face far more severe punishment for stopping him then he did for raping KIDS.”
Despite this, it has been reported that Fairbanks has remained “surprisingly upbeat,” likely encouraged by the massive expression of public support and condolences.
While his actions may have been in technical violation of the law, it is clear that many view Fairbanks as a hero who stepped in where the judicial system failed, and acted in a way becoming an honest man of moral character who did not want to see others hurt. As long as the American judicial system continues to perpetuate such gross injustices and inequalities of punishment as exemplified in the case of Mattieo Condoluci, more people may be inspired by Fairbanks’ example. In any case, President Trump should heed the petition and step in to give a pardon in this extraordinary case.
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