Local weekly newspaper The Stranger has an excellent summary of Gary Ridgeway’s day in court confessing to 48 counts of murder as the Green River Killer — and plea bargaining to avoid the death sentence in the process — in the form of a 24-panel black and white comic strip. Very nicely done.
I’m really torn as to the matter of his plea bargain. Firstly, I’ve never been a huge fan of the death penalty (yes, I’m afraid I’m one of those flaming liberals). At the same time, if there were ever a case extreme enough to justify the death penalty, this could be it — 48 women dead over 20-some years, merely because Ridgeway didn’t like prostitutes. Obviously, rehabilitation isn’t an option in some cases, and while Ridgeway’s death certainly wouldn’t bring any of his victims back, or ease the pain for their families, it could provide a sense of closure and finality for many people that merely locking him away for the rest of his life wouldn’t do. But what got the judge to accept the plea bargain and to allow Ridgeway to live was Ridgeway’s promise to reveal the location of even more remains so that they can be exhumed, identified, and hopefully returned to their families, which I can only see as a good thing, allowing more people to get a certain amount of closure in the death of their loved ones.
It’s certainly not an easy situation. I don’t envy the judge, nor any of the other people involved in this case. No matter what, not everyone is going to be satisfied with the final outcome.
(via pops)
I’d given up on The Stranger some time back. It kinda needs to be renamed “What’s Got Dan Savage’s Unders Wadded Now.” Mom found the article and told me to go look.
Like you I think that the need for closure outweighs the call for punishment here. I didn’t feel that way about Ted Bundy. Bundy’s various sprees left more of a one-to-one causality in their wake. There weren’t too many mysteries left by the time Bundy went to trial.
Ridgway however makes Bundy look like a first-timer.
I am also a liberal, and I as well am uncomfortable with the death penalty. Not because it’s wrong but because we use it incorrectly. Far too many poor black men sit on death row and not enough white serial killers. And we all know the reasons why.
The death penalty should be reserved for only the most heinous of crimes. Such as the Green River Killer. The very people that deserve it the most are those that don’t get it. (Jeffery Dahmer is another example.) Any “Plea bargain” made, should only have been made by the victim’s families.
My version of plea-bargaining would be.
If you tell us about it all… We will make it quick and painless. (Lethal injection)
Hold out or lie and we’ll strap you to a table and allow the victims families to stab you to death with knitting needles…. Dull…Knitting needles.
Better yet tie him to a telephone pole downtown in the red light district for a week or two and let the local prostitutes take care of him.
Why we don’t use the death penalty on these creeps is beyond me?
I very much agree with the death penalty. If he didn’t want the death penalty, he shouldn’t have killed anyone. Its his own damn fault.
No one else should worry about this uncompassionate monster.
The thing is that this case will be used as a precedent in the future. I think they pretty much HAVE to give him the death penalty to keep that from happening. I mean if somebody who murdered dozens of people doesn’t get the death penaly why should anyone else?
well ridgway should meet the same fatge as bundy of course. but when people say ridgway was beter at his craft than bundy i have to disagree. ridgway went after esy targets, drifters outcasts, while bundy went after women of substance. took chances, most notably caryn campbell , how the heck he abducted her from that hotel i still can’t figure out. ridgeway is stoo stupid to pull that one off. i’m glad that bastard is dead, i can’t wait until someone stabs ridgway in prison, so he will be dead too
Many of the serial killers in the united states who have been executed, want to be executed (edmund Kemper, albert fish. etc..) they actually wait for the day their lives will be taken and are almost excited for it to come. The main difference between these men and Gary ridgeway, and even ted bundy, is that the men who have been executed, were more spree killers then serial killers. Both ridgeway and bundy ploted out their crimes and went about commiting them in a secretive manor, and didnt want to be caught. When you look at the patterns of other killers, and the ways they went about their crimes are very arrogant, and almost careless, to the point where their capture is almost gauranteed. The crimes commited by bundy and ridgeway are in no way more extreme or more worthy of death then those of any other serial killer, the differance is that since both ridgeway and bundy were so secretive about what the were doing, it took much longer for them to be caught, giving them the opportunity to gain a higher body count, and attract more attention from the media.
Execute him. Save money for schools.
I dont think Gary Ridgeway should be treated the way he is. Killing he didt have to do but there was a reason why he did it. If the 48+ victims didnt do something illegale like prostitition we would think different of Gary Ridgeway. If i were to interview with hime he would feel alot different because I do like him. I want to meet him and be his friend. He needs a friend right……