[jackaaron]

If my only options are hack off hand/not hack off hand (as opposed to calling the police, beating him up, saving the cat, blah blah blah), then I have to go with:

Not hack off hand.

Would I want to hack off his hand? Most certainly. Just like I would literally kill that lady that was recently on trial for drowning all her kids. But, I'm not allowed to kill her because we have a system in place for dealing with things.

Why even have laws to protect us, and a system in place for delivering justice (hey, it's not perfect, but could it ever be?) if we can't abide by it?

Lastly, there are two main reasons you should not hack off his hand. One...you're not Police Enforcement or the Law, you have no right to take the law into your own "hands." And, Two...he is going to sue your @$$, and I'm about 85% sure he would win a substantial amount of money off of you.