The pedophile is, I agree, a despicable criminal. He deserves punishment. But not the kind of punishment he gets when the outlaws take the law into their own hands. The good guys in there know what to do with him. We delegate jailhouse justice to do what our weak-kneed system won't do.
Extreme cases make bad laws.
We're enraged at Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka. But those cases are extreme in the extreme. The law is not our personal instrument of vengeance and punishment. Our civil liberties and polite society and individual freedom are at stake. And don't harangue me about victims' rights.