At 9.12am on the 9th floor of the Criminal Courts Building... the Defense for Lonnie Franklin Jr, came stumbling in at his usual 80mph pace. Moments afterwards, the 'alleged' Grim Sleeper, Lonnie Franklin, was escorted in by the Bailiff, in his orange jumpsuit and looking downward as he always does.
The Judge spoke first stating that the Defense had only just 'filed a motion' this morning.... meaning this was to delay the Trial date even further. Technical jargon was used but in layman's terms, it was clear to everyone that he is continuing to play his games using delaying tactics and filing motions as he has always threatened in each of the previous Pre-Trial appearances.
The DA stated that over the course of the past 7 months that only 3 weapons (guns) have been tested for DNA and the remaining 7 guns haven't been checked at all.
To which the response from the Defense was that he will admit that there was a 'lapse' on his part however he will not be making any excuses for himself and feels that 'The People' do have a legitimate complaint in this instance.
He continued to go around in circles again still not giving any reason as to why this huge 'lapse' happened and what he can do to rectify the situation.
After many back and forth suggestions of the next Pre (Pre,Pre) Trial Arraignment date between the Judge, the DA and the village idiot.... I mean the Defense... the date they decided upon was January 14th.
The Judge suggested that:
"Even though you two don't get along", referring to the DA and the Defense, "you both need to discuss this matter of how you plan to proceed with this case and also each other. In fact I order you both to 'meet and confer' about this situation and come to some kind of Agreement before the next Court date".
Then the DA brought up the fact that we need a new Trial Date before we leave today. To which the fight was on again from the Defense saying he is not ready to set a date for Trial. Then the Judge responded immediately with:
"I don't think that he will never be ready!" Speaking about the Defense, she then questioned him by asking:
"What about setting a Trial Date for March Mr. *****?" Judge Kennedy asked.
The Defense mumbled, "I'm thinking more like June as I'm hoping we can have it (The Trial) sometime next year."
To which the DA erupted with shock and the Judge ended with her comment that, "It will be next year Mr ******, that is a guarantee!"
Another non-entity Pre (Pre X50+) Arraignment day but we had to all be there to know what is going on and when the possibility of a confirmed Trial date might be..... still nothing is confirmed yet.
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Friday, October 31, 2014
Grim Sleeper Pre-pre-pre Trial Arraignment
At 8.45am everyone (except the Defense and his client Lonnie Franklin), including the Prosecution, the Homicide Detective(s), the regular four victims family members, were all in their seats in the Courtroom of Dept 109, on the 9th Floor, of the Criminal Courthouse.
At 9.04am the Defense comes racing in to the Courtroom as if he's a racehorse and has just been let out of the gate to run his first race at Santa Anita..... Typically late of course.
At 9.18 Lonnie Franklin shuffled in, handcuffs and in his orange oversized jumpsuit. Escorted by the bailiff of course.
The Defense started speaking without anyone asking him to, which is typical, stating that he had only just received his 'last batch of DNA' to be tested and that he will be reconsidering whether or not he'll decide whether he needs to do any more DNA testing after that. He stated that he doesn't want to come back until December 1st as, "there would be no point as we (the Defense) still aren't ready.
The Prosecution jumped in stating that they, quite rightly so, are not willing to wait an entire month to come back to Court.
The Judge asked "Why does this (re: the delivering of evidence) 'dribble' on so slowly?"
To which the Defense started to raise his voice, as always, stating that he'd like to speed things up but it's out of his hands. He went on to say that nothing would make him happier for the process to be quicker but it's not up to him. Then who is it up to I ask myself.
"I am working very hard on this case and need the time away from the Court to increase my chances of me being ready for Trial coming up early next year"... The Defense said.
The Judge responded that she is keeping the date of November 14th for the next pre-Trial Arraignment and that is that.
Of course the The Defense argued back in his typical passive aggressive way that he will be 'willing to do that but is hesitant as it is all about a money issue right now and he's trying to stay ahead of it' however he is talking to his DNA experts continuously.
(This statement made no sense to me either).
The Prosecution stated that they have a number of large cases coming up at the beginning of the year so they need to know definitively whether the Trial date (which has been set already) will be going ahead or not.
The Defense shot back that he will probably need a 'time waiver'
It all ended within 8 minutes and we walked out at 9.26am!
Another waste of time, especially for the prosecution and the victim's family members who are doing their best to contain themselves after continuously being reminded (every Court date) of the tragic loss which they have had in their lives.
To be continued......
At 9.04am the Defense comes racing in to the Courtroom as if he's a racehorse and has just been let out of the gate to run his first race at Santa Anita..... Typically late of course.
At 9.18 Lonnie Franklin shuffled in, handcuffs and in his orange oversized jumpsuit. Escorted by the bailiff of course.
The Defense started speaking without anyone asking him to, which is typical, stating that he had only just received his 'last batch of DNA' to be tested and that he will be reconsidering whether or not he'll decide whether he needs to do any more DNA testing after that. He stated that he doesn't want to come back until December 1st as, "there would be no point as we (the Defense) still aren't ready.
The Prosecution jumped in stating that they, quite rightly so, are not willing to wait an entire month to come back to Court.
The Judge asked "Why does this (re: the delivering of evidence) 'dribble' on so slowly?"
To which the Defense started to raise his voice, as always, stating that he'd like to speed things up but it's out of his hands. He went on to say that nothing would make him happier for the process to be quicker but it's not up to him. Then who is it up to I ask myself.
"I am working very hard on this case and need the time away from the Court to increase my chances of me being ready for Trial coming up early next year"... The Defense said.
The Judge responded that she is keeping the date of November 14th for the next pre-Trial Arraignment and that is that.
Of course the The Defense argued back in his typical passive aggressive way that he will be 'willing to do that but is hesitant as it is all about a money issue right now and he's trying to stay ahead of it' however he is talking to his DNA experts continuously.
(This statement made no sense to me either).
The Prosecution stated that they have a number of large cases coming up at the beginning of the year so they need to know definitively whether the Trial date (which has been set already) will be going ahead or not.
The Defense shot back that he will probably need a 'time waiver'
It all ended within 8 minutes and we walked out at 9.26am!
Another waste of time, especially for the prosecution and the victim's family members who are doing their best to contain themselves after continuously being reminded (every Court date) of the tragic loss which they have had in their lives.
To be continued......
Monday, October 6, 2014
The Grim Sleeper Pre (Pre.. Pre..)Trial Arraignment... "Counsel Should Have Been Arrested!"
At 9.04am in Dept.14 on the 9th Floor of the Criminal Courts Building, Downtown LA, Lonnie David Franklin Jr. was walked in by the bailiff. As usual he shuffled in wearing shackles and handcuffs and the same orange jumpsuit as always, looking downward.
Nothing was any different today from the routine that has always taken place in Dept. 14 every 2 - 3 weeks with all of these Pre, Pre, Pre Trial Arraignments, since July 2010.
Each and every Court appearance, one of the Attorney's (or should I clarify, the public defender's) for Lonnie Franklin becomes more and more ballsy, combative and argumentative. However today he went overboard and it was grounds for him being held in Contempt of Court. I am surprised that he wasn't arrested with his threats, outbursts and attacks directed to the Judge and the DA.
After 4 years and 3 months of Counsel's bumbling and rambling responses to the Judge's questions.... and with him continually making excuses for having, yet again, made no progress whatsoever to expedite this case going to Trial..... and with his unlimited attacks on the DA and her (justified) attacks on him.... etc.. Judge Kathleen Kennedy finally had enough!
Her face became red quite a few times and then she suddenly raised up in her chair, leaning over her desk and pointing down to this little man, Franklin's Counsel, and yelled "Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" She yelled these words well over those three times. Then she turned to the DA, as soon as she responded with an attack back and again yelled "Stop it the both of you!"
In a nutshell the Defense was saying that they need a few more years to get everything together for this case to go to Trial! They make the excuse that due to the fact that there are 10 murders (and counting) linked to their client, that this is the reason for all the unending delays.
However today we were supposed to receive a 'Trial date'? "So what was this bumbling fool playing at now?" (Speaking the thoughts of the rest of the Courtroom including myself).
The family members who I always sit next to, just gasped in absolute horror when this was said.
Counsel went on to splutter out: "My experts have told me they need a couple more years at least, especially as we have to go through hours and hours of video tapes."
The Judge responded with: "Two more years is ridiculous! I want to know now what date we are going to set for Trial... today?"
Counsel retorted with his angry attitude, leaning in to the desk, banging the table aggressively: "I'm sorry but I won't give you a 'Trial date'! I refuse! I want to get the case to Trial as soon as I can but if I can't do it competently then I won't do it until I'm ready.. not you!"
It went back and fourth between the Judge, the DA and Defense Counsel and the yelling got louder and louder from the Defense's side. He even said that if they set a date today, he will immediately 'make motions to delay it time and time again'. Judge Kennedy said that he was 'Threatening the Court and also that his 'level of voice will not be tolerated' in her Courtroom. She told him that he was 'Out of line!'.. on a number of occasions. This statement was long overdue.
"Ok, the Trial date will be January 14th 2015" Judge Kennedy stated. This date was agreed upon by both the Judge and the DA, however naturally the Defense Counsel 'lost the plot' all over again. He was rolling around in his chair like a rabid dog with spit coming out of his mouth when he shouted. No one seemed to have any control over him, although today, the Judge tried her best. Even the homicide detective told me afterwards that he'd 'never seen anything like this in his lifetime'. He told me other things about the case too, but that was off the record and will remain that way.
It was beyond uncomfortable for everyone in the Courtroom today. The Defense knows he has everyone by the 'short and curlies' (aka b**s).
Meaning that, at this late stage of the game, if the Judge was to replace him with a competent lawyer, the new Counsel would have to start from the beginning again which would take many more years. So Franklin's Defense seems to continually get away with being abusive and venomous every time Court is in session, yet no one can do anything about it. Each time he gets worse.
To add to this mess, we the tax payers are still paying him his hourly wage. You can be sure that he is billing/invoicing for himself numerous hours even when he's asleep.
The families of the victims just sat there, some with their heads in their hands, some on the verge of tears and some just so worn down with this horrible process that they just hung their heads in utter disbelief.
This is yet another terrible miscarriage of Justice and everyone is suffering, in one way or another, due to the actions (or lack of actions) from this incompetent Defense!
To be continued.......
Nothing was any different today from the routine that has always taken place in Dept. 14 every 2 - 3 weeks with all of these Pre, Pre, Pre Trial Arraignments, since July 2010.
Each and every Court appearance, one of the Attorney's (or should I clarify, the public defender's) for Lonnie Franklin becomes more and more ballsy, combative and argumentative. However today he went overboard and it was grounds for him being held in Contempt of Court. I am surprised that he wasn't arrested with his threats, outbursts and attacks directed to the Judge and the DA.
After 4 years and 3 months of Counsel's bumbling and rambling responses to the Judge's questions.... and with him continually making excuses for having, yet again, made no progress whatsoever to expedite this case going to Trial..... and with his unlimited attacks on the DA and her (justified) attacks on him.... etc.. Judge Kathleen Kennedy finally had enough!
Her face became red quite a few times and then she suddenly raised up in her chair, leaning over her desk and pointing down to this little man, Franklin's Counsel, and yelled "Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" She yelled these words well over those three times. Then she turned to the DA, as soon as she responded with an attack back and again yelled "Stop it the both of you!"
In a nutshell the Defense was saying that they need a few more years to get everything together for this case to go to Trial! They make the excuse that due to the fact that there are 10 murders (and counting) linked to their client, that this is the reason for all the unending delays.
However today we were supposed to receive a 'Trial date'? "So what was this bumbling fool playing at now?" (Speaking the thoughts of the rest of the Courtroom including myself).
The family members who I always sit next to, just gasped in absolute horror when this was said.
Counsel went on to splutter out: "My experts have told me they need a couple more years at least, especially as we have to go through hours and hours of video tapes."
The Judge responded with: "Two more years is ridiculous! I want to know now what date we are going to set for Trial... today?"
Counsel retorted with his angry attitude, leaning in to the desk, banging the table aggressively: "I'm sorry but I won't give you a 'Trial date'! I refuse! I want to get the case to Trial as soon as I can but if I can't do it competently then I won't do it until I'm ready.. not you!"
It went back and fourth between the Judge, the DA and Defense Counsel and the yelling got louder and louder from the Defense's side. He even said that if they set a date today, he will immediately 'make motions to delay it time and time again'. Judge Kennedy said that he was 'Threatening the Court and also that his 'level of voice will not be tolerated' in her Courtroom. She told him that he was 'Out of line!'.. on a number of occasions. This statement was long overdue.
"Ok, the Trial date will be January 14th 2015" Judge Kennedy stated. This date was agreed upon by both the Judge and the DA, however naturally the Defense Counsel 'lost the plot' all over again. He was rolling around in his chair like a rabid dog with spit coming out of his mouth when he shouted. No one seemed to have any control over him, although today, the Judge tried her best. Even the homicide detective told me afterwards that he'd 'never seen anything like this in his lifetime'. He told me other things about the case too, but that was off the record and will remain that way.
It was beyond uncomfortable for everyone in the Courtroom today. The Defense knows he has everyone by the 'short and curlies' (aka b**s).
Meaning that, at this late stage of the game, if the Judge was to replace him with a competent lawyer, the new Counsel would have to start from the beginning again which would take many more years. So Franklin's Defense seems to continually get away with being abusive and venomous every time Court is in session, yet no one can do anything about it. Each time he gets worse.
To add to this mess, we the tax payers are still paying him his hourly wage. You can be sure that he is billing/invoicing for himself numerous hours even when he's asleep.
The families of the victims just sat there, some with their heads in their hands, some on the verge of tears and some just so worn down with this horrible process that they just hung their heads in utter disbelief.
This is yet another terrible miscarriage of Justice and everyone is suffering, in one way or another, due to the actions (or lack of actions) from this incompetent Defense!
To be continued.......
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
September 23rd..."Just Following Orders"..... 6 Los Angeles County Sheriff's sentenced to prison. A very sad day for the LASD
Six LA County Sheriffs were sentenced to prison this morning after being convicted of conspiracy, making false statements and obstructing an FBI investigation.
The sentence went as follows:
Lt. Greg Thompson - 37 months
Lt. Stephen Leavins - 41 months
Dep. Gerard Smith - 21 months
Dep. Mickey Manzo - 24 months
Sgt. Scott Craig - 33 months
Sgt. Maricela Long - 24 months
Lt. Stephen Leavins - 41 months
Dep. Gerard Smith - 21 months
Dep. Mickey Manzo - 24 months
Sgt. Scott Craig - 33 months
Sgt. Maricela Long - 24 months
Plus 1 year supervised release after they are set free.
They were all convicted on July 1st of this year on charges including: obstructing an FBI Investigation, conspiracy, tampering with witnesses, threatening an FBI Agent and making false statements.
Judge Percy Anderson spoke slowly and firmly stating that the defendants "lacked the courage to do what is right." When he spoke to the defendants, he went on to say: "You broke the vow you made to protect the public and serve the community. You have embarrassed the Sheriff Department and none of you showed the courage to do what's right." But 'following orders' is exactly what these deputies believed 'to be right!' Some of these defendants have been with the Sheriff Department for 30 years and have always upheld the law. So why would any of them now decide to start becoming corrupt when they were so close to retirement? It just doesn't make sense.
Judge Anderson also said they all "acted as a shield to protect the dirty deputies...... perhaps it is a symptom of the corrupt culture within the Sheriffs Department". Yet these deputies were merely following the orders from their higher-ups ~ Sheriff Baca and Under Sheriff Tanaka ~ regarding the handling of inmate (and FBI informant) Anthony Brown.
The prosecution accused two of the defendants of "scaring and trying to intimidate a female FBI Agent", when what they were doing was simply trying to find out why she had 'smuggled a cell phone illegally into their jail'. That is a crime in itself.
The Judge continued to humiliate the defendants by saying that they all felt and behaved as if they were "above the law". He also said that they had a choice between right and wrong yet they repeatedly engaged in the wrong conduct.
But how is it 'wrong conduct' when they were clearly following orders of their supervisors. Aren't the true puppet masters Under Sheriff Paul Tanaka and retired Sheriff Lee Baca?
Judge Anderson stated that none of the defendants had shown the 'slightest remorse'. But why should they feel remorse for a crime that they know that they were not committing?
The attorneys, for the defendants, asked for a punishment of home confinement and/or probation and to also take in to account their careers in law enforcement and protecting the public. The Judge said he did take this in to account and would adjust their sentences 'downward'. Yet, the sentences that were adjusted 'downward' were by a few months at the most.
All of these five male and one female Sheriff deputies were merely 'following orders'. They were protecting their jail and conducting business as usual. Today they themselves became victims to the Justice System which, as we all know, is often very unjust.
In a nutshell it seems that the actual people who believe that they are 'above the law' aren't these Sheriffs at all.... it's the FBI. They were quite happy to (illegally) smuggle a cell phone in to an inmate at the Men's Central Jail and yet they received no punishment at all.
Unless I'm wrong, I always thought that it was illegal to fight a crime by committing one (a crime) in order to investigate that crime?
To be continued.......
Friday, September 19, 2014
The Grim Sleeper 'Pre, Pre, Pre,' Pre, Trial Arraignment...
Yet again more delays in the upcoming Trial of the most prolific serial killer in Los Angeles history!
These ridiculous delays do not make any sense to the Prosecution, the Judge, the homicide detectives, the family members or anyone else in the Courtroom. I don't even think that the delays, which the Defense is causing, makes sense to even them.
I do respect the fact that this case is one of the biggest and most difficult cases to Try in Los Angeles to date, especially how Lonnie Franklin was arrested using 'familial DNA'. This is the first time this method has ever been used to charge someone with serial murder.
Today, the main female public defender was in the Courtroom (finally). She said very few words but the words she did say, in response to the Prosecution's concerns for these delays, were: "We are progressing".
To which the Judge responded with: "I don't know what that means." The Defense repeated the same words again in slightly a different way: "There is progression". It all lasted less than 8 minutes and we left the Courtroom.
So for 4 years and 2 months (costing us tax payers' so much money) there is still no date set to go to Trial.
My book, however, is now finished and ready to be released very soon. My book will cover my 'exclusive' one on one interviews, phone calls (and written correspondence) that I have had with the 'alleged' Grim Sleeper ~ Lonnie David Franklin Jr ~ over the past 4 years since his arrest in 2010. Franklin has never spoken to any media or anyone else outside of his own family except for myself. He gave me the Rights to his life story and this is what my book will be about.
Please stay tuned and I will be posting when my book will be released.....
These ridiculous delays do not make any sense to the Prosecution, the Judge, the homicide detectives, the family members or anyone else in the Courtroom. I don't even think that the delays, which the Defense is causing, makes sense to even them.
I do respect the fact that this case is one of the biggest and most difficult cases to Try in Los Angeles to date, especially how Lonnie Franklin was arrested using 'familial DNA'. This is the first time this method has ever been used to charge someone with serial murder.
Today, the main female public defender was in the Courtroom (finally). She said very few words but the words she did say, in response to the Prosecution's concerns for these delays, were: "We are progressing".
To which the Judge responded with: "I don't know what that means." The Defense repeated the same words again in slightly a different way: "There is progression". It all lasted less than 8 minutes and we left the Courtroom.
So for 4 years and 2 months (costing us tax payers' so much money) there is still no date set to go to Trial.
My book, however, is now finished and ready to be released very soon. My book will cover my 'exclusive' one on one interviews, phone calls (and written correspondence) that I have had with the 'alleged' Grim Sleeper ~ Lonnie David Franklin Jr ~ over the past 4 years since his arrest in 2010. Franklin has never spoken to any media or anyone else outside of his own family except for myself. He gave me the Rights to his life story and this is what my book will be about.
Please stay tuned and I will be posting when my book will be released.....
Monday, September 8, 2014
The 'Alleged' Grim Sleeper Pre Arraignment.. September 4th 2014
At the Criminal Courts Building on Sept 4th there was yet another Pre Trial Arraignment in the 'alleged' Grim Sleeper Case. As always, the Defense 'need more time', so after 4 years and 2 months of delays, it is going to be delayed even further.
The last time we were in Court, for yet another pre -arraignment, the Defense eluded to this new delay was due to audio recordings that I'd had with their client.
The Defense stated that they need to go through a large number of audio recordings of my extensive jail interviews and telephone conversations which I'd had with their client, Lonnie Franklin, since he was arrested in 2010. They claimed they would need at least a year to go over all of this information.
I obviously felt very awkward as I sat in the Courtroom, minding my own business, to be spoken about with the implication that, now, the cause of these delays are in part my fault. The Judge hadn't a clue what the Defense was talking about but another 'woman' with a position of power knew exactly what the Defense meant. She then chimed in and attacked me, in her typical way of attacking people. I responded to her very nicely and corrected her by saying that 'I'm an author'.
I shouldn't have responded as I was not 'called upon to respond', so for the next time I'll know better. However it's a little difficult when everyone is referring and speaking about me, (and one woman angrily attacking me) when I was sitting right there. Apparently she is known to attack everyone so I should have been prepared that my day was coming. It seems that vindictive women are everywhere in Los Angeles, yet I'm surprised that with her being in a high position in the Courtroom, that it doesn't exclude her from behaving like one.
On the morning of September the 4th it went pretty much the same way as it does every few weeks with the Defense using as many 'stalling tactics' as they can. As always the Defense asked the Judge "May I just say something?" And her usual response is "No you may not!" Usually because he is interrupting someone.
The jist of this whole morning was about not turning over the 'discovery' of the evidence and also delaying the return of those 'discovery items'. The Prosecution stated that "Not one item has been returned by Consul yet" The Defense's excuse was that they didn't want to send it back in dribs and drabs and wanted to send it all at once when the testing was completed.
Bottom line is that the Defense wants more time... as always!
The Judge and Prosecution want a Trial date and the response from the Defense was typical: "I'm not ready for Trial!"
So we continue to spin our wheels waiting for this case to go to Trial and these delays are all being caused by the Defense.
I am shocked, yet again, by the Justice System here in America in letting this nonsense happen. This pending Trial has now become a farcical. I am desperately sorry for the victims family members who should have had this Trial over and done with by now so they can have some form of closure regarding their loved ones. This is truly a disgrace!
The last time we were in Court, for yet another pre -arraignment, the Defense eluded to this new delay was due to audio recordings that I'd had with their client.
The Defense stated that they need to go through a large number of audio recordings of my extensive jail interviews and telephone conversations which I'd had with their client, Lonnie Franklin, since he was arrested in 2010. They claimed they would need at least a year to go over all of this information.
I obviously felt very awkward as I sat in the Courtroom, minding my own business, to be spoken about with the implication that, now, the cause of these delays are in part my fault. The Judge hadn't a clue what the Defense was talking about but another 'woman' with a position of power knew exactly what the Defense meant. She then chimed in and attacked me, in her typical way of attacking people. I responded to her very nicely and corrected her by saying that 'I'm an author'.
I shouldn't have responded as I was not 'called upon to respond', so for the next time I'll know better. However it's a little difficult when everyone is referring and speaking about me, (and one woman angrily attacking me) when I was sitting right there. Apparently she is known to attack everyone so I should have been prepared that my day was coming. It seems that vindictive women are everywhere in Los Angeles, yet I'm surprised that with her being in a high position in the Courtroom, that it doesn't exclude her from behaving like one.
On the morning of September the 4th it went pretty much the same way as it does every few weeks with the Defense using as many 'stalling tactics' as they can. As always the Defense asked the Judge "May I just say something?" And her usual response is "No you may not!" Usually because he is interrupting someone.
The jist of this whole morning was about not turning over the 'discovery' of the evidence and also delaying the return of those 'discovery items'. The Prosecution stated that "Not one item has been returned by Consul yet" The Defense's excuse was that they didn't want to send it back in dribs and drabs and wanted to send it all at once when the testing was completed.
Bottom line is that the Defense wants more time... as always!
The Judge and Prosecution want a Trial date and the response from the Defense was typical: "I'm not ready for Trial!"
So we continue to spin our wheels waiting for this case to go to Trial and these delays are all being caused by the Defense.
I am shocked, yet again, by the Justice System here in America in letting this nonsense happen. This pending Trial has now become a farcical. I am desperately sorry for the victims family members who should have had this Trial over and done with by now so they can have some form of closure regarding their loved ones. This is truly a disgrace!
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
There are no such things as coincidences....
So now that I have finished my book on the 'alleged Grim Sleeper', and I have been asked by the homicide detectives to delay the release due to the fact it is such a high profile case, so, I have been pondering what to write about next.
I know for a fact that, for my future writings, I am compelled to write about the (possibly) 'wrongly convicted' of murder and/or rape who are incarcerated here in the US today. These stories can turn out to be so satisfying when a person is released due to DNA evidence proving them innocent.
When I helped an innocent man on Oklahoma Death Row receive 3 Stays of execution in 2010, I knew then that my next mission would be to write a show and/or a book about the wrongly convicted. This was all inspired by the life and death of Jeffrey David Matthews.
Yes, I will say this man's name here in this Blog as he is no longer with us. Tragically he was not given a 4th Stay of execution as a new Governor came in to office with whom I was not in regular communication. Therefore she did not grant him a 4th Stay of execution and on January 11th 2011 he was put to death. 1.11.11 was that fateful day. I am still friends with his mother to this day.
I would love to write about the LASD and FBI case and trial. Mainly because I not only know some of the people involved, but I have studied this case and have first hand information from when it began. Also, I was there for part of the trial and know how many facts were not allowed to be entered in to evidence. I also know that the law states that one cannot fight a crime with a crime. However, as this is still an on going investigation, I will wait and see if it is something I can truly sink my teeth into.
In the meantime, I have come up with three people that I feel would be ideal as subjects for my next book or one of the three people to be the focus of the whole book. I've been throwing these names around to my friends and co-workers for this past month and here comes the: 'Nothing is a coincidence in life':
Back in 2010 while I was interviewing with the 'alleged' Grim Sleeper, I had also spoken with a man who resided in the LA County Jail who had been suspected and accused of rape. From the documents that I had read, and also what he had told me, I strongly believed that he had been wrongly charged with the crime of rape. This person was well known with an onscreen profession and I also think this added to his being accused of these atrocities. Vindictive women know no bounds. Yet the Courts seem to side with them and have put numerous men away for rape only to find out later that the 'woman lied because.......' (the reason is unimportant). Bottom line is 'the woman lied' and an innocent man's life was ruined forever.
I hadn't spoken to this person since he left the LA County Jail in 2012 and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, however he was always in the forefront of my mind to write about someday in the future.
Well, today I received a call from a prison and it was this very person who was calling me. The one I had been speaking about just recently as the subject for my next book (or a large part of my next book). He was calling to see if he could send me the latest information from his Lawyer and how it has recently been proved that he was not at certain places where he had originally been accused of being. He will also be sending me more documented facts that prove his case to be possibly fabricated.
We talked for quite a while and this has given me the final push to continue following my passion of writing about the possibly 'wrongly convicted' who are victims of the Justice system today.
There are no coincidences in life....only things that are destined to happen.
I know for a fact that, for my future writings, I am compelled to write about the (possibly) 'wrongly convicted' of murder and/or rape who are incarcerated here in the US today. These stories can turn out to be so satisfying when a person is released due to DNA evidence proving them innocent.
When I helped an innocent man on Oklahoma Death Row receive 3 Stays of execution in 2010, I knew then that my next mission would be to write a show and/or a book about the wrongly convicted. This was all inspired by the life and death of Jeffrey David Matthews.
Yes, I will say this man's name here in this Blog as he is no longer with us. Tragically he was not given a 4th Stay of execution as a new Governor came in to office with whom I was not in regular communication. Therefore she did not grant him a 4th Stay of execution and on January 11th 2011 he was put to death. 1.11.11 was that fateful day. I am still friends with his mother to this day.
I would love to write about the LASD and FBI case and trial. Mainly because I not only know some of the people involved, but I have studied this case and have first hand information from when it began. Also, I was there for part of the trial and know how many facts were not allowed to be entered in to evidence. I also know that the law states that one cannot fight a crime with a crime. However, as this is still an on going investigation, I will wait and see if it is something I can truly sink my teeth into.
In the meantime, I have come up with three people that I feel would be ideal as subjects for my next book or one of the three people to be the focus of the whole book. I've been throwing these names around to my friends and co-workers for this past month and here comes the: 'Nothing is a coincidence in life':
Back in 2010 while I was interviewing with the 'alleged' Grim Sleeper, I had also spoken with a man who resided in the LA County Jail who had been suspected and accused of rape. From the documents that I had read, and also what he had told me, I strongly believed that he had been wrongly charged with the crime of rape. This person was well known with an onscreen profession and I also think this added to his being accused of these atrocities. Vindictive women know no bounds. Yet the Courts seem to side with them and have put numerous men away for rape only to find out later that the 'woman lied because.......' (the reason is unimportant). Bottom line is 'the woman lied' and an innocent man's life was ruined forever.
I hadn't spoken to this person since he left the LA County Jail in 2012 and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, however he was always in the forefront of my mind to write about someday in the future.
Well, today I received a call from a prison and it was this very person who was calling me. The one I had been speaking about just recently as the subject for my next book (or a large part of my next book). He was calling to see if he could send me the latest information from his Lawyer and how it has recently been proved that he was not at certain places where he had originally been accused of being. He will also be sending me more documented facts that prove his case to be possibly fabricated.
We talked for quite a while and this has given me the final push to continue following my passion of writing about the possibly 'wrongly convicted' who are victims of the Justice system today.
There are no coincidences in life....only things that are destined to happen.
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Part 2: San Quentin State Prison Death Row. August 24th 2014. Psychopaths vs Sociopaths
Following on from the Day 1 at San Quentin when I interviewed a 'mass murderer' inside a cage for 5 hours.... The following day I spent 5 hours in a cage interviewing a 'serial killer'. These two types of killers have totally different mindsets and personalities. The serial killer was a huge struggle and I'll explain about some of this interview in my writing below:
I have always known that this particular serial killer is not very social and every year he seems to get worse.
He has lost his 'people skills' which he had a little of years before. The reason for this is what I state all the time: 'Being isolated and alienating yourself from society can breed 'mental illness'/depression/anti social disorder and all the other names one can think up.'
Being on Death Row for so many years, and rarely ever going to the yard, this particular serial killer really does behave like the serial killers we read about. The weird look in the eyes, grinding of the teeth, his aggressive speech, a complete (self induced) paranoia, controlling words and strong opinions, the: 'I don't want that flavour burrito', 'You should've got me that...' Why didn't you get 'I told you so', 'you shouldn't this', 'you never listen', 'don't, don't', 'I hate that person.... ', 'don't look at my neighbours', and this list goes on with all the negative, rude and paranoid comments that this man says. Yet this continues to be a very interesting case study for me.
I will digress a bit now:
I learn so much about peoples behaviours by spending time with individuals from all walks of life on a daily basis. For me, I didn't study sociology or psychology at school. I'm not a scholar on any level. However I am a 'doer'.
When I write books I go straight to the source to get in their minds and understand the way they think. Then I write from that place and what I have learned. After those interviews, I will then add the trimmings, ie, the transcribed Trial/Court transcripts, legal documents and interviews with people/family members surrounding the case.
Most authors don't ever get to interview their subject, either because they are not able to due to the inmate/subject not wanting to talk to them, or they cannot get clearance in to a prison or jail. Therefore most authors write about the trimmings and write about what other people say about their subject.
There is nothing wrong with this kind of writing and it takes just as much effort to write their books as I do with mine, however I prefer to start at the horses mouth to get my story.
If it helps at all, I never had a cooking class in my life and taught myself to cook about 6 years ago. I love cooking so much that I made it to the finals of Masterchef with Gordon Ramsay. Meaning I made it to the final 100 'home chefs' in America out of 30,000 chosen, to compete for the prize of being the Masterchef. I did not make the final 28 as those contestants were super spectacular!
My point behind what I just wrote in italics, is that you don't have to go to school to learn anything, least of all communication and people skills which is the key to all kinds of writing, investigative journalism, public speaking and all the interviews needed to validate this.
Back to the subject/serial killer at hand:
Knowing that this particular serial killer is a 'piece of work', I told the guards that I might want to leave 'the cage' early as this time is not going to be as good the interview/meeting from the day before ~ with the mass murderer. The guards were new to this 'contact' area and hadn't a clue what I was talking about..... until later on.
After an hour or so of being inside the cage with this inmate, I asked the most important question of all. I have always answered this question from my own opinion in interviews, however I had always wanted to ask him to hear it from a real serial killer's mouth and not anyone else's:
"What is the difference between a Psychopath and a Sociopath?"
His response was shocking yet very interesting:
"I am a psychopath Victoria, I am not a sociopath" I gulped but realized he was probably correct.
"Why, what is the difference?"
"Well, a psychopath is someone who is compelled and predisposed to killing the victim types we choose. We have to do it. We have no choice. However we have empathy for people we care about and the rest of the world. Even the family members of the victims we kill. We lack social skills (I knew that) and we isolate ourselves in society only opening up to very few chosen ones. We are more paranoid than most and the homicidal urge can be overwhelming at times. With people we would never kill, we don't even think of killing them, however we are predisposed to kill so the thoughts are continually in our minds."
"So what is a sociopath then?" I asked, thinking that he might be both.
"A sociopath is someone who pretends to care about someone/people but really doesn't. They have no empathy and are often narcissists. They have amazingly good people skills but are only out for themselves and are not able to care about anyone on a deep level. They make people believe they care when they truly don't. Most people in here (on Death Row) are either psychopaths or a sociopaths.
So I said, "What about ***** ? (The name of the mass murderer I had interviewed the day before)?" To which he said that ***** was neither one of those types of people.
"His murders were all crime of passion murders and drug induced. Those are the main and fundamental differences between a psychopath and a sociopath."
This was interesting to me as it made sense. However I believe that even a psychopath can be less psychopathic (if that's even a word) if they would connect/communicate with more people.
I told him he should spend more time on the yard, or in group meetings, or saying hello to other inmates that come down to visit in the next cages to us... with their family members. But no, he won't do it. He won't even look in their direction unless it's the few he will speak to on the Row.
He prefers to sit in his cell and fester in his paranoia which is very sad. I have seen a decline in this person over the years and I attribute this to lack of connection with society making him an isolated human being. He has completely alienated himself from everyone except the few people whom he trusts. I am one of those people whom he trusts, along with a lovely family he's known since his childhood and a few inmates including the mass murderer who will remain nameless.
There was much more we talked about in the visit, but I will choose to save this for my interviews and my upcoming books. For today I wanted to share this on my blog.
Feel free to comment or ask me a question and I will respond within a few days... to everyone.
I have always known that this particular serial killer is not very social and every year he seems to get worse.
He has lost his 'people skills' which he had a little of years before. The reason for this is what I state all the time: 'Being isolated and alienating yourself from society can breed 'mental illness'/depression/anti social disorder and all the other names one can think up.'
Being on Death Row for so many years, and rarely ever going to the yard, this particular serial killer really does behave like the serial killers we read about. The weird look in the eyes, grinding of the teeth, his aggressive speech, a complete (self induced) paranoia, controlling words and strong opinions, the: 'I don't want that flavour burrito', 'You should've got me that...' Why didn't you get 'I told you so', 'you shouldn't this', 'you never listen', 'don't, don't', 'I hate that person.... ', 'don't look at my neighbours', and this list goes on with all the negative, rude and paranoid comments that this man says. Yet this continues to be a very interesting case study for me.
I will digress a bit now:
I learn so much about peoples behaviours by spending time with individuals from all walks of life on a daily basis. For me, I didn't study sociology or psychology at school. I'm not a scholar on any level. However I am a 'doer'.
When I write books I go straight to the source to get in their minds and understand the way they think. Then I write from that place and what I have learned. After those interviews, I will then add the trimmings, ie, the transcribed Trial/Court transcripts, legal documents and interviews with people/family members surrounding the case.
Most authors don't ever get to interview their subject, either because they are not able to due to the inmate/subject not wanting to talk to them, or they cannot get clearance in to a prison or jail. Therefore most authors write about the trimmings and write about what other people say about their subject.
There is nothing wrong with this kind of writing and it takes just as much effort to write their books as I do with mine, however I prefer to start at the horses mouth to get my story.
If it helps at all, I never had a cooking class in my life and taught myself to cook about 6 years ago. I love cooking so much that I made it to the finals of Masterchef with Gordon Ramsay. Meaning I made it to the final 100 'home chefs' in America out of 30,000 chosen, to compete for the prize of being the Masterchef. I did not make the final 28 as those contestants were super spectacular!
My point behind what I just wrote in italics, is that you don't have to go to school to learn anything, least of all communication and people skills which is the key to all kinds of writing, investigative journalism, public speaking and all the interviews needed to validate this.
Back to the subject/serial killer at hand:
Knowing that this particular serial killer is a 'piece of work', I told the guards that I might want to leave 'the cage' early as this time is not going to be as good the interview/meeting from the day before ~ with the mass murderer. The guards were new to this 'contact' area and hadn't a clue what I was talking about..... until later on.
After an hour or so of being inside the cage with this inmate, I asked the most important question of all. I have always answered this question from my own opinion in interviews, however I had always wanted to ask him to hear it from a real serial killer's mouth and not anyone else's:
"What is the difference between a Psychopath and a Sociopath?"
His response was shocking yet very interesting:
"I am a psychopath Victoria, I am not a sociopath" I gulped but realized he was probably correct.
"Why, what is the difference?"
"Well, a psychopath is someone who is compelled and predisposed to killing the victim types we choose. We have to do it. We have no choice. However we have empathy for people we care about and the rest of the world. Even the family members of the victims we kill. We lack social skills (I knew that) and we isolate ourselves in society only opening up to very few chosen ones. We are more paranoid than most and the homicidal urge can be overwhelming at times. With people we would never kill, we don't even think of killing them, however we are predisposed to kill so the thoughts are continually in our minds."
"So what is a sociopath then?" I asked, thinking that he might be both.
"A sociopath is someone who pretends to care about someone/people but really doesn't. They have no empathy and are often narcissists. They have amazingly good people skills but are only out for themselves and are not able to care about anyone on a deep level. They make people believe they care when they truly don't. Most people in here (on Death Row) are either psychopaths or a sociopaths.
So I said, "What about ***** ? (The name of the mass murderer I had interviewed the day before)?" To which he said that ***** was neither one of those types of people.
"His murders were all crime of passion murders and drug induced. Those are the main and fundamental differences between a psychopath and a sociopath."
This was interesting to me as it made sense. However I believe that even a psychopath can be less psychopathic (if that's even a word) if they would connect/communicate with more people.
I told him he should spend more time on the yard, or in group meetings, or saying hello to other inmates that come down to visit in the next cages to us... with their family members. But no, he won't do it. He won't even look in their direction unless it's the few he will speak to on the Row.
He prefers to sit in his cell and fester in his paranoia which is very sad. I have seen a decline in this person over the years and I attribute this to lack of connection with society making him an isolated human being. He has completely alienated himself from everyone except the few people whom he trusts. I am one of those people whom he trusts, along with a lovely family he's known since his childhood and a few inmates including the mass murderer who will remain nameless.
There was much more we talked about in the visit, but I will choose to save this for my interviews and my upcoming books. For today I wanted to share this on my blog.
Feel free to comment or ask me a question and I will respond within a few days... to everyone.
Responding to the question from T. Lin
.... My response to the question from T. Lin (and the question asked) is below as it exceeded the word count to go in the comments 'response' box:
Well in my opinion T. Lin (and I stress this is only my opinion), I would say that if drugs and alcohol were not in the picture when a person commits a heinous crime, then it can be any caused by any of the following reasons:
1. When parents of young children are not 'hands on' with them:
IE: they let them play video games and watch television on a continual basis.
When parents don't connect and bond with their children and/or watch their behaviour, then this can lead to isolation in a child which only gets worse as they get older.
With lonely/shy types of children, this can encourage these kids to also detach from their piers and other children which ultimately causes that child to feel alienated from society as they grow. I believe that this all starts with the parents.
Sometimes it's not the parents fault and a child can just alienate themselves from other school mates, however, parents need to be more aware of this and encourage them to connect with other kids and their elders too.
We should be encouraging our children to go out and play ball games in the street after school (when homework is done) with their friends, sit around a table for dinner with the rest of the family. There should be continual communication amongst the family as we always have in Western European countries.
When I lived in Spain (and worked as a nanny) there wasn't a day when we didn't all sit around the table for the evening meal. The kids played with other kids in the road and also inside the house. Children asked more questions to adults, way more than they do now? Nowadays, at least here in the US, people and children are so 'fear based' and this leads to alienation and isolation. This can cause children to grow up and want to just explode and therefore can commit horrific atrocities such as mass murder.
2. As for mental issues, well this is something I have never come across until I moved to America. The parallel I make is this:
When I moved to Los Angeles, I was shocked to see how many people are on medication, especially mind altering medication, like anti-depressants, pain killers, anti bi-polar, (anti this and anti that) etc. This has always been quite shocking to me.
Therefore I attribute a lot of children today, who have been a product of a parent taking medication, were therefore born with these chemicals in their system. This is quite possibly a reason for them growing up with different forms of 'mental disease'.
I personally don't understand what depression is, but I know it is said to be a chemical imbalance in the brain and this disease seems rampant in America. For those people I feel extremely sorry, however if they must take medication for this, then don't get pregnant or procreate until it is fully out of your system. The likelihood of your child being born with something fundamentally wrong, will be very high.
If this 'feeling of depression' that people get is really just that you're having a bad week, then get a 'stiff upper lip' and wait for the problem to pass and get back to being motivated about all you are doing in your life. And if you're not motivated about anything, then find something... it's as simple as that!
I feel a lot of people here in the US want to turn straight to medication without addressing the issue. Basically they are using medication to dull the pain when it can be sorted out if you sort out what the problem is until it is over.
I personally am very against medication of all kinds especially ones that alter the mind. (The last time I was prescribed medication was an antibiotic (10 years ago) when I had a spider bite).
I think that so many of these types of medication have dangerous side affects, therefore, to bring children in to this world born from a parent using mind altering medication is grounds for a potential (huge) problem with your child.
Again, this is only my opinion and some mental disease may have come from other reasons like being hereditary or even a bang on the head. So this is all said with the greatest respect to those that suffer from mental disease which never stemmed from ingested chemicals.
Bottom line is what I live by: Connection and communication is the key to life. Let's stay connected to each other as a society, let's smile and/or nod at people we meet on a daily basis. Modern technology doesn't help matters, but communication doesn't have to be conversation, it can just be a gesture on the road to let someone in front or a compliment to an old lady in the grocery store etc.. or a smile to some isolated adolescent that hasn't had anyone give them the time of day for a long time. It's really quite simple if we do our part... and I truly believe.. that this will help in not creating 'monsters' out in our world today.
T. LinAugust 26, 2014 at 8:47 AM
What is your opinion Victoria when drugs and alcohol are a non-issue? Is it their up bringing? Is it their parent's fault? Is it society in general that causes these people to whack out? Is it the lack of medication for mental health issues? I know you have interviewed so many of these people. I'm curious what you have learned is the main cause of these killer's skewed thinking?
Well in my opinion T. Lin (and I stress this is only my opinion), I would say that if drugs and alcohol were not in the picture when a person commits a heinous crime, then it can be any caused by any of the following reasons:
1. When parents of young children are not 'hands on' with them:
IE: they let them play video games and watch television on a continual basis.
When parents don't connect and bond with their children and/or watch their behaviour, then this can lead to isolation in a child which only gets worse as they get older.
With lonely/shy types of children, this can encourage these kids to also detach from their piers and other children which ultimately causes that child to feel alienated from society as they grow. I believe that this all starts with the parents.
Sometimes it's not the parents fault and a child can just alienate themselves from other school mates, however, parents need to be more aware of this and encourage them to connect with other kids and their elders too.
We should be encouraging our children to go out and play ball games in the street after school (when homework is done) with their friends, sit around a table for dinner with the rest of the family. There should be continual communication amongst the family as we always have in Western European countries.
When I lived in Spain (and worked as a nanny) there wasn't a day when we didn't all sit around the table for the evening meal. The kids played with other kids in the road and also inside the house. Children asked more questions to adults, way more than they do now? Nowadays, at least here in the US, people and children are so 'fear based' and this leads to alienation and isolation. This can cause children to grow up and want to just explode and therefore can commit horrific atrocities such as mass murder.
2. As for mental issues, well this is something I have never come across until I moved to America. The parallel I make is this:
When I moved to Los Angeles, I was shocked to see how many people are on medication, especially mind altering medication, like anti-depressants, pain killers, anti bi-polar, (anti this and anti that) etc. This has always been quite shocking to me.
Therefore I attribute a lot of children today, who have been a product of a parent taking medication, were therefore born with these chemicals in their system. This is quite possibly a reason for them growing up with different forms of 'mental disease'.
I personally don't understand what depression is, but I know it is said to be a chemical imbalance in the brain and this disease seems rampant in America. For those people I feel extremely sorry, however if they must take medication for this, then don't get pregnant or procreate until it is fully out of your system. The likelihood of your child being born with something fundamentally wrong, will be very high.
If this 'feeling of depression' that people get is really just that you're having a bad week, then get a 'stiff upper lip' and wait for the problem to pass and get back to being motivated about all you are doing in your life. And if you're not motivated about anything, then find something... it's as simple as that!
I feel a lot of people here in the US want to turn straight to medication without addressing the issue. Basically they are using medication to dull the pain when it can be sorted out if you sort out what the problem is until it is over.
I personally am very against medication of all kinds especially ones that alter the mind. (The last time I was prescribed medication was an antibiotic (10 years ago) when I had a spider bite).
I think that so many of these types of medication have dangerous side affects, therefore, to bring children in to this world born from a parent using mind altering medication is grounds for a potential (huge) problem with your child.
Again, this is only my opinion and some mental disease may have come from other reasons like being hereditary or even a bang on the head. So this is all said with the greatest respect to those that suffer from mental disease which never stemmed from ingested chemicals.
Bottom line is what I live by: Connection and communication is the key to life. Let's stay connected to each other as a society, let's smile and/or nod at people we meet on a daily basis. Modern technology doesn't help matters, but communication doesn't have to be conversation, it can just be a gesture on the road to let someone in front or a compliment to an old lady in the grocery store etc.. or a smile to some isolated adolescent that hasn't had anyone give them the time of day for a long time. It's really quite simple if we do our part... and I truly believe.. that this will help in not creating 'monsters' out in our world today.
Saturday, August 23, 2014
San Quentin State Prison Death Row. August 23rd 2014. Mass Murderers vs Serial Killers
Many people have asked me what is the difference between a mass murderer and a serial killer. I have answered that, professionally speaking, a mass murderer kills a large number of people all at one time with no cooling off period in between. Mass murderers know that Law Enforcement are going to arrest, or kill them on the spot, or they will kill themselves. However a serial killer will kill 3 or more people over a period of time with a cooling off period in between each murder.
Today I had a 5 hour visit inside a cage with a well-known mass murderer here on Death Row at San Quentin State prison. He has not, and has never had, any kind of mental disease as many mass murderers seem to have nowadays. However the lethal cocktail of drugs and alcohol was the main reason for him to commit the atrocities that he committed, on that one day in April, a number of years ago which sent him to Death Row. I do not want to say the date as I do not want to divulge his name at this time.
Interviewing a serial killer... And I have interviewed many... And interviewing a mass murderer, are completely different in many different ways. When he spoke, he spoke of "the tragedy"that happened.
He spoke of the fond memories that he had of his family, his daughters, his wife and his job. Even his boss. Yet these are the very people he killed while under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
From what he told me today, he was always a big drinker, and being the main supervisor of a Vineyard certainly didn't help him. However he had never taken a drug in his life and, after being offered a huge amount of cocaine at closing time at the bar in Sonoma while he was completely intoxicated, he willingly accepted it.
I did not know him when this crime happened so I cannot say for certain that this is true, however when I am given information by an inmate I do check out the story by asking a question relating to the same topic many different ways during the interview. Each time he answered it the same way... It seemed to me that he had truly never touched drugs before in his life.
"The Tragedy" was when he decided to take the life of his three daughters (one survived), his wife, his mother-in-law, his boss, and a few other people along the way. All in a drug induced state. I truly do believe that he has remorse, even though it's too late now. The media will not portray this but I'm going to let you know that he does have remorse.
When I was very young, at the age of 11, our closest friends in England fell victims to murder at the hands of a mass murderer. In those days I thought a serial killer and a mass murderer were the same evil entity, they most definitely are not.
It is a great shame that these two types of people exist in this world. And with a better understanding of what causes people to commit such tragedies like this, I truly believe they can be prevented from happening in the future.
I understand what alcohol can do to a human body but from what I have learned, illegal and prescribed drugs can do far worse. I am trying to understand what creates the type of person to be able to commit these heinous crimes so that, as a society, we can prevent them from happening in the future.
These are observations that I have made from my one-on-one interviews with these murderers. Therefore they are from my own personal experiences and I am open to any and all feedback.
Today I had a 5 hour visit inside a cage with a well-known mass murderer here on Death Row at San Quentin State prison. He has not, and has never had, any kind of mental disease as many mass murderers seem to have nowadays. However the lethal cocktail of drugs and alcohol was the main reason for him to commit the atrocities that he committed, on that one day in April, a number of years ago which sent him to Death Row. I do not want to say the date as I do not want to divulge his name at this time.
Interviewing a serial killer... And I have interviewed many... And interviewing a mass murderer, are completely different in many different ways. When he spoke, he spoke of "the tragedy"that happened.
He spoke of the fond memories that he had of his family, his daughters, his wife and his job. Even his boss. Yet these are the very people he killed while under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
From what he told me today, he was always a big drinker, and being the main supervisor of a Vineyard certainly didn't help him. However he had never taken a drug in his life and, after being offered a huge amount of cocaine at closing time at the bar in Sonoma while he was completely intoxicated, he willingly accepted it.
I did not know him when this crime happened so I cannot say for certain that this is true, however when I am given information by an inmate I do check out the story by asking a question relating to the same topic many different ways during the interview. Each time he answered it the same way... It seemed to me that he had truly never touched drugs before in his life.
"The Tragedy" was when he decided to take the life of his three daughters (one survived), his wife, his mother-in-law, his boss, and a few other people along the way. All in a drug induced state. I truly do believe that he has remorse, even though it's too late now. The media will not portray this but I'm going to let you know that he does have remorse.
When I was very young, at the age of 11, our closest friends in England fell victims to murder at the hands of a mass murderer. In those days I thought a serial killer and a mass murderer were the same evil entity, they most definitely are not.
It is a great shame that these two types of people exist in this world. And with a better understanding of what causes people to commit such tragedies like this, I truly believe they can be prevented from happening in the future.
I understand what alcohol can do to a human body but from what I have learned, illegal and prescribed drugs can do far worse. I am trying to understand what creates the type of person to be able to commit these heinous crimes so that, as a society, we can prevent them from happening in the future.
These are observations that I have made from my one-on-one interviews with these murderers. Therefore they are from my own personal experiences and I am open to any and all feedback.
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
.... Well this is the first Blog I have ever written in my life! I'm not sure how it works but I'll give it my best shot.
I want to make this Blog open to any and all people that would like to talk to me, ask me a question, or share their opinions even if they are different from my own. I'm sure there will be many with very different opinions than my own as I have been told that I am opinionated and occasionally a little controversial. However, I embrace all differences of opinion, when it's done in a respectful way with no attacking. I don't attack anyone and I never have, therefore nor will I on my Blog.
This Blog will not be focused on my work or my career, however the lines will cross over at times.
Those people who know me, know that I am passionate about everything I believe in and all that I stand for. This is the reason for me finally starting my Blog:
I am passionate about bringing back the human connection in society today which is so sadly lacking due to modern technology and also fear based people.
I have ideas on how to accomplish this which I will explain later on.
I am passionate about getting the wrongly convicted out of prisons today. Especially where evidence was withheld in Trials that could have cleared these convicted individuals. (I am not including serial killers in this as I believe all the 'serial killers' whom I have interviewed are as guilty as hell)!
I have ideas on how to accomplish this which I will explain later on.
I am passionate about bringing the morals back to females of today - the way females behaved decades ago. If females had the morals from the old days then there would be far less 'hard/jaded women' in the world today.
Women wouldn't be accusing men of 'date rape' etc when they got drunk and naked and then said oooops! Ladies from decades ago (and the minority of us females who have morals and self worth of today) were/are not trying to be men! We are feminine and still like to consider it to be a man's world on so many levels. What's wrong with being a strong female yet also wanting to clean the house and have a meal ready for your partner when he gets home. After all, since the beginning of time females were the born nurturers and men were the born hunters. So lets not go against nature.
I have ideas on how to accomplish this which I will explain later on.
I will also be following certain Trials and documenting what happens in this Blog. I welcome all comments and feedback as I've already stated.
I will be adding my (humble??) opinions on current events in the News today and my upcoming book ideas and writings etc.
For all those who have followed me on other social media sites, my book on the 'alleged' Grim Sleeper is now complete, however it will be a while before it is released. (The reason for this is because of my respect for the homicide detectives in this Trial who have asked me not to release it just yet. Last Friday I was asked very nicely by one of the homicide detectives to wait until the Verdict is read and I will honour that.)
So for now I will close until the next installment..... please stay tuned!
I want to make this Blog open to any and all people that would like to talk to me, ask me a question, or share their opinions even if they are different from my own. I'm sure there will be many with very different opinions than my own as I have been told that I am opinionated and occasionally a little controversial. However, I embrace all differences of opinion, when it's done in a respectful way with no attacking. I don't attack anyone and I never have, therefore nor will I on my Blog.
This Blog will not be focused on my work or my career, however the lines will cross over at times.
Those people who know me, know that I am passionate about everything I believe in and all that I stand for. This is the reason for me finally starting my Blog:
I am passionate about bringing back the human connection in society today which is so sadly lacking due to modern technology and also fear based people.
I have ideas on how to accomplish this which I will explain later on.
I am passionate about getting the wrongly convicted out of prisons today. Especially where evidence was withheld in Trials that could have cleared these convicted individuals. (I am not including serial killers in this as I believe all the 'serial killers' whom I have interviewed are as guilty as hell)!
I have ideas on how to accomplish this which I will explain later on.
I am passionate about bringing the morals back to females of today - the way females behaved decades ago. If females had the morals from the old days then there would be far less 'hard/jaded women' in the world today.
Women wouldn't be accusing men of 'date rape' etc when they got drunk and naked and then said oooops! Ladies from decades ago (and the minority of us females who have morals and self worth of today) were/are not trying to be men! We are feminine and still like to consider it to be a man's world on so many levels. What's wrong with being a strong female yet also wanting to clean the house and have a meal ready for your partner when he gets home. After all, since the beginning of time females were the born nurturers and men were the born hunters. So lets not go against nature.
I have ideas on how to accomplish this which I will explain later on.
I will also be following certain Trials and documenting what happens in this Blog. I welcome all comments and feedback as I've already stated.
I will be adding my (humble??) opinions on current events in the News today and my upcoming book ideas and writings etc.
For all those who have followed me on other social media sites, my book on the 'alleged' Grim Sleeper is now complete, however it will be a while before it is released. (The reason for this is because of my respect for the homicide detectives in this Trial who have asked me not to release it just yet. Last Friday I was asked very nicely by one of the homicide detectives to wait until the Verdict is read and I will honour that.)
So for now I will close until the next installment..... please stay tuned!
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