The case of Henry Plummer represents the gray area between due process and necessary action, depending on whether you view a rise in criminal activity as a matter for the justice system no matter how lacking, or local imperium no matter how brutal. In an interview with Frederick Allen, author of A Decent, Orderly Lynching: The Montana Vigilantes, we discuss his initial interest in the story, the motivations of the people involved, and the debate their actions spurred, then and now.