Why sending ‘love letters/fan mail’ to
convicted serial killers should be illegal
The names and faces of convicted serial
killers continue to enlist the feeling of disgust, horror, and anger whenever
we come across them. Such reactions are completely understandable considering
the heinous nature of the crimes these individuals have committed. In fact it
would be unnatural or even inhuman not to share these or similar sentiments
towards the likes of:
Dr Harold Shipman, also known as Britain’s
most prolific serial killer preyed on his vulnerable elderly patients.
Shipman’s trial started in 1998 and he was sentenced for life in 2000. He was
convicted for 15 murders although the total number of his victims is believed
to be over 200. Shipman picked his victims randomly and killed them by means of
a poisonous injection. It is believed that his crimes dated as far back as the
70s. Shipman hanged himself in his cell in 2004.
Fred & Rosemary West the British
husband & wife serial killer duo who tortured, sexually abused, murdered,
dismantled, and buried a total of victims in their home. The victims included
their own children! They were finally caught and charged with 10 counts of
murder involving mostly young women. Although they were also suspected of murdering
many more in the 20-year killing spree, including 9 young women who went
missing after visiting their media dubbed “house of horror”. Fred West hanged himself in 1995. Rosemary
West continues to serve her life-sentence.
Ted Bundy was an American serial killer who
preyed on young women in the mid to late seventies. A chance arrest for a minor
traffic violation led to the discovery of items in Bundy’s car, which lead to
his conviction for kidnap in 1977. While serving the 15 years sentence, Bundy
was also facing a murder charge. Bundy, a University graduate with degrees in
psychology and knowledge of Law, opted to represent himself in the trial. This
gave him some freedom, which he took advantage of when he escaped from police
custody while in the library. He then went on to kill another two young women
in Florida State University Chi Omega 1978. He had intended to murder four but
was interrupted when another student returned home early that day. Bundy was finally arrested, charged,
convicted of the Chi Omega murders in 1979 and another in 1980. He was
sentenced to death. Despite this Bundy continued to use his knowledge of Law
and psychology to reverse the sentence. He wanted life imprisonment not death!
Once his various appeals failed he then confessed to almost 30 murders. He
tried to bargain with the murdered victims’ family by promising police that he
would reveal the location of the bodies in exchange for the victims’ family
support for the change of his sentence. They refused! Bundy was executed in 1989.
Unfortunately the list of serial killers
continues to grow worldwide. It is obvious that one of the main features they
all share is their total disregard for another person’s life. The fact too
clearly demonstrated by the often, gruesome nature of their crimes. It is no
wonder that for most people the mere conviction of these individuals is not
enough. These individuals have become the epitome of every aspect of evil in
our society. There are indeed the real monsters.
Perhaps more shocking than these crimes is
the realization that once incarcerated, most of these criminals receive
thousands of fan mail/love letters from some members of the public. These acts
of sending fan mail/love letters to such criminals may appear ‘harmless’ but it
is the underlying potential implications of such actions that require further
analysis. Firstly a ‘fan mail’ is defined as a letter sent from an admirer to
his/her ‘idol’. ‘Fans’ and ‘fan mail’ are usually associated with famous
celebrity and their admirers. By its very nature one who declares him/herself
as a ‘fan’ of a serial killer also declares/imply that he/she is somehow
‘inspired’, ‘moved’ or in ‘awe’ of the serial killer and/or his acts. In other
words these ‘fans’ condone the heinous acts of their ‘favourite’ serial killer
in some way. In doing so the ‘fans’ add to the emotional, psychological pain
and suffering of the victims’ loved ones. In many cases the victims’ families
and friends feel, even after the serial killers conviction, a sense of
betray/failure by the System. The system that failed to protect their loved
one. Therefore by allowing these ‘fan mails’ we are allowing innocent people to
continue to suffer – an attitude which very similar to that of a serial killer!
Furthermore some of these ‘fans’ are so taken by their fandom (the fanatics)
that they emulate the heinous acts of their ‘idol’ serial killer. This
phenomenon known as “copy cat” serial killers has been well documented. In
other words we (as a society) are helping to create more serial killers!
What do serial killers get from these
‘fans’ and their mail? Having a fan base or a following is something that
boosts the ego/self-esteem of the ‘idol’. In many normal settings this factor
is not worrisome. For regular celebrities and such an ego boost by fans serves
as a motivation to do better in their respective fields. However when dealing
with someone already possessing a disillusioned beliefs of self-important or
someone who feel that he has the right to determine who lives and dies (the
God-complex demonstrated by many “cult-leader-turned-serial-killers”), someone
like a serial killer then there is a problem. The problem is that these letters
of ‘praise’, ‘admiration” and so on reinforce the serial killers beliefs about
themselves. This in turn ‘justifies’ in the mind of the killer, the heinous
acts committed. This might explain, in part at least, why some serial killers
refuse to repent or even show any remorse for their crimes. This of course is
wrong in all levels, morally, ethically and so forth. It therefore should not
be permitted.
The same can be said about ‘love letters’
sent to serial killers. The women who declare their “love” for these convicted
murders continue to puzzle many psychologists. The fact highlighted by Sheila
Isenberg, the author of “Women Who Love
Men Who Kill”, found that these women were ‘regular/normal’ in every aspect.
They have regular jobs ranging form clerks, hairdressers to schoolteachers;
hard working-tax-paying citizens just like any ‘regular/normal’ folk. There are
hidden implications of such findings, which shouldn’t be ignored.
One cannot help but see the chilling
similarities in the psychological make-up of some of these women and the serial
killers. For most serial killers presenting a ‘regular/normal’ façade is both a
mask as well as a weapon. By appearing ‘regular/normal’ the serial killer is
able to diffuse any suspicion from neighbours as well as Law enforcement
agents. The likes of Shipman who used the façade of a respected doctor and
family man to Bundy who used his charming educated man and “Iceman” who was
described by his neighbours as a happily married man and so on should serve as
both a reminder and a warning of the “evils” that may lay behind a façade.
Otherwise as the serial killers have shown, these ‘regular/normal’ facades
become the perfect masks allowing them to kill time and time again. Moreover it
is through these facades that serial killers, often times than not, are able to
earn the victims’ trust.
The point here is not to suggest that the
women who confess of their “love” to the convicted serial killers are
themselves potential killers. However it is to emphasize that appearing
‘regular/normal’ per se should not be a reason enough to render their
acts/letters as harmless. It may be true that so far on average men are more
likely to become serial killers than women. However convicted women serial
killers such as Rosemary West, Myra Hindley, Beverly Allit, to name just three,
have shown that there are just as capable of gruesome and cruelty just as their
male counterparts.
Undoubtedly there are those who would wave
the ethical and human rights flag in hearing the suggestion that these ‘love
letters/fan mail’ should be made illegal. They will argue that the human rights
of the women/fans and the serial killers will be violated. Surely writing
letters be it ‘love/fan mail’ is not a crime regardless of the recipient. Or is
it? The answer is that it should be just
as it is illegal in many countries to incite “hate” by any means be it letters,
videos or public speech. Inciting religious or racial hate is well documented
in its part in many terrorism acts, anti-social behaviours and so on targeted
at innocent civilians.
Therefore such letters/fan mail not only
have the same potential of harming the general public but worse they continue
to be a form of torture to the grieving friends and families of the victims. In
a sense “terrorising” these grieving individuals and thus the same
“Anti-terrorism” & “Anti-social behaviour” Laws in the U.K/U.S.A need to be
extended to include these acts. Furthermore it is due to the practise of the
Human Rights Law that the convicted serial killers are, in many countries,
speared the torture and pain that they inflicted on their innocent victims. The
convicted serial killers are allowed the right to life either while serving the
often multiple life-sentences or as they wait for their execution, as is the
case in some American states. This right to live albeit in an institution
(Prison) is more than there were able to grant their unfortunate victims.
No comments:
Post a Comment