Read Online The Insanity Plea by Larry D. Thompson - Free Book Online
Authors: Larry D. Thompson
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Mind.
Originally scheduled for a classroom
in the medical school, the lecture had been moved twice, the last time to an
auditorium in the law school to accommodate the hundreds of faculty and
students who wanted to hear first-hand what such a renowned expert had to say
about an issue that touched so many academic disciplines.
The auditorium was packed and the
buzzing of voices was that of a giant beehive when Dr. Parke walked from behind
the curtain to take the solitary seat on the stage. The room went silent as the
head of the department of psychiatry took ten minutes to introduce the speaker.
With pages still remaining in the speaker’s resume, he finally stopped and
invited a round of applause as Dr. Parke rose, shook his hand and stood behind
the podium. Dr. Parke was in his early fifties with sandy blond hair and a
hawkish yet handsome face. He carried a lean 185 pounds on a six foot frame. For
this occasion he was dressed in a Pierre Cardin suit, a blue dress shirt and a
yellow tie. A yellow handkerchief in the suit breast pocket accented the tie. He took time to look over the audience, first
one side and then the other, then to the balcony, as if to make eye contact
with everyone in the room before he spoke. Next he stepped from behind the
podium and flipped the switch for a microphone attached to his lapel as he
walked to the edge of the stage
“How do we identify a serial killer? Anyone
want to take a shot at the answer?”
The audience was silent.
“Take a look at the person to your
left and then to your right. Go ahead,” Parke encouraged his audience.
“Now, with one major exception,
anyone in this room could fit the description of such a killer,” Parke smiled. “The
exception is that you can exclude the women in the room. Oh, it happens
occasionally, but women usually don’t work alone. The Manson family is a
classic example. Otherwise, they are men, usually white men. Not men who look
like werewolves or vampires. Most are plain, ordinary guys. John Wayne Gacy was
a member of the Jaycees and dressed as a clown for children’s parties. Ted Bundy could have blended into any class on
this campus. The self-proclaimed BTK murderer was president of his Lutheran
Church congregation. Most are adept at putting on a public façade. They melt
into whatever society where they choose to do their hunting. Think of Dr.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a fictional character, but nonetheless an example of a
respected scientist in the daytime and a mad killer when darkness fell.
“People always want to know why a man
turns into a killer. I’ve been studying them for thirty years. I hope my legacy
is a better understanding of serial killers so that we can stop some of them
before they begin to hunt. Some are abused as children. Some claim that they
were exposed to traumatic events. Maybe it’s a chemical imbalance. Maybe it’s
genetics. Ted Bundy never understood why people couldn’t comprehend that he
killed because that’s what he wanted to do. He rationalized that it was only
one less person on the face of the earth and there were still billions left.”
A gray haired man with a handlebar
mustache made his way to a microphone about halfway back in the middle aisle. “Excuse
me, Dr. Parke. Since you’ve been studying these killers for so long, I’m sure
the audience would like to hear your own opinions as to what makes them tick.”
Parke frowned at being interrupted,
quickly recovered and replied, “Glad to respond, Professor. Most of the killers
I’ve studied have one thing in common. They are all hunters. Not for deer or
ducks or elk. They want the thrill of the hunt and the kill, but of another
human being, most often a woman. They succeed once and then succeed again. Soon
it becomes a critical part of their lives. In fact, they tell me it’s the only
time they truly feel alive. With some, it’s sexual. And, since our society has
publicized their conquests, I’m certain there are many who want to
Originally scheduled for a classroom
in the medical school, the lecture had been moved twice, the last time to an
auditorium in the law school to accommodate the hundreds of faculty and
students who wanted to hear first-hand what such a renowned expert had to say
about an issue that touched so many academic disciplines.
The auditorium was packed and the
buzzing of voices was that of a giant beehive when Dr. Parke walked from behind
the curtain to take the solitary seat on the stage. The room went silent as the
head of the department of psychiatry took ten minutes to introduce the speaker.
With pages still remaining in the speaker’s resume, he finally stopped and
invited a round of applause as Dr. Parke rose, shook his hand and stood behind
the podium. Dr. Parke was in his early fifties with sandy blond hair and a
hawkish yet handsome face. He carried a lean 185 pounds on a six foot frame. For
this occasion he was dressed in a Pierre Cardin suit, a blue dress shirt and a
yellow tie. A yellow handkerchief in the suit breast pocket accented the tie. He took time to look over the audience, first
one side and then the other, then to the balcony, as if to make eye contact
with everyone in the room before he spoke. Next he stepped from behind the
podium and flipped the switch for a microphone attached to his lapel as he
walked to the edge of the stage
“How do we identify a serial killer? Anyone
want to take a shot at the answer?”
The audience was silent.
“Take a look at the person to your
left and then to your right. Go ahead,” Parke encouraged his audience.
“Now, with one major exception,
anyone in this room could fit the description of such a killer,” Parke smiled. “The
exception is that you can exclude the women in the room. Oh, it happens
occasionally, but women usually don’t work alone. The Manson family is a
classic example. Otherwise, they are men, usually white men. Not men who look
like werewolves or vampires. Most are plain, ordinary guys. John Wayne Gacy was
a member of the Jaycees and dressed as a clown for children’s parties. Ted Bundy could have blended into any class on
this campus. The self-proclaimed BTK murderer was president of his Lutheran
Church congregation. Most are adept at putting on a public façade. They melt
into whatever society where they choose to do their hunting. Think of Dr.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a fictional character, but nonetheless an example of a
respected scientist in the daytime and a mad killer when darkness fell.
“People always want to know why a man
turns into a killer. I’ve been studying them for thirty years. I hope my legacy
is a better understanding of serial killers so that we can stop some of them
before they begin to hunt. Some are abused as children. Some claim that they
were exposed to traumatic events. Maybe it’s a chemical imbalance. Maybe it’s
genetics. Ted Bundy never understood why people couldn’t comprehend that he
killed because that’s what he wanted to do. He rationalized that it was only
one less person on the face of the earth and there were still billions left.”
A gray haired man with a handlebar
mustache made his way to a microphone about halfway back in the middle aisle. “Excuse
me, Dr. Parke. Since you’ve been studying these killers for so long, I’m sure
the audience would like to hear your own opinions as to what makes them tick.”
Parke frowned at being interrupted,
quickly recovered and replied, “Glad to respond, Professor. Most of the killers
I’ve studied have one thing in common. They are all hunters. Not for deer or
ducks or elk. They want the thrill of the hunt and the kill, but of another
human being, most often a woman. They succeed once and then succeed again. Soon
it becomes a critical part of their lives. In fact, they tell me it’s the only
time they truly feel alive. With some, it’s sexual. And, since our society has
publicized their conquests, I’m certain there are many who want to
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