The Father Who Executed His Son’s Rapist on Live TV: Justice or Crime?
A Brutal Kidnapping, a Revenge Killing Broadcast to Millions, and the Debate That Still Rages
You’re flipping through channels on a March evening in 1984. The news cuts to a grainy live feed at Baton Rouge Airport. A man in a hat and sunglasses walks calmly toward a suspect in handcuffs. Then—a gunshot cracks through the static. The camera jerks. Someone screams. By the time the anchor stammers, "We… we apologize for that," 11 million Americans have just watched a father execute his son’s rapist on live television.
This wasn’t a movie. This was Gary Plauche, a Louisiana dad who chose a revolver over the courts. For days, the nation argued: Was he a hero who served raw justice? Or a vigilante who shattered the law? The answer split families, fueled talk shows, and left a question hanging like smoke from that .38 caliber barrel: What would you have done?
Jeff Doucet: The Monster in the Karate Gi
Jeff Doucet wore a black belt and a smile. Parents trusted him. Kids idolized him. To Jody Plauche’s family, he was more than a karate instructor—he was a friend. So when Doucet offered to drive 11-year-old Jody to a "secret lesson" in January 1984, no one hesitated.
The lesson was a lie. Doucet kidnapped Jody, drove him to California, and raped him for four days in a $29-a-night motel. He told the boy his family was dead. He threatened to kill him if he screamed. When police finally tracked them down, Doucet fought—not for his life, but to keep Jody. Officers found the child curled in a bathtub, trembling but alive.
Doucet’s mugshot hit the news: slicked hair, a cocky smirk. Parents recoiled. Neighbors burned his dojo. But Gary Plauche didn’t want a trial. He wanted a bullet. And in two months, he’d get his chance.