Relatives of victims,along w/prison officials,continue to perversely try to stop EBay from auctioning off the artwork of NY serial killer of at least 13,Arthur Shawcross
Joe1orbit
It's geat to get an update on serial killer Arthur Shawcross, immortalized by
Jack Olsen in the excellent book: "The Misbegotten Son". Arthur, abused as a
child, subjected to the horrors of having whatever remained of his soul burned
away by being turned into a legal mass murderer in the Vietnam War, serially
killed two children soon after his return to civilian life, in New York. He
served just 15 years in jail, then won EARLY parole, doing a wonderful job of
conning the head shrinks & prison review board into thinking he had "changed".
In reality of course, Arthur was PLANNING out additional vengeance, and a few
years after his release, he began serially killing female hookers, racking up
at least ELEVEN more victims. Truly one of the most fascinating and DETERMINED
of all serial killers, to have followed up on a double child murder, by waiting
17 or so YEARS, calmly serving out his prison sentence, and emerging with even
MORE justifiable rage and hate, which he used to embark upon a tactically
CUNNING and impressively successful, secondary serial slaughter spree, much
more successful than the first, in terms of the number of victims. He is
serving out a Life sentence now, and unfortunately there is NO chance at all of
him ever winning parole again.
It's GREAT to hear that Arthur is alive, well, and thanks to his friends on
the outside, has entered the CYBERSPACE realm. His artwork is being sold on the
EBay auction site, and now we have prison officials in NY getting all upset
over the fact that Arthur is exercising his TOTALLY HARMLESS, and what should
be completely legal, basic human right to EARN MONEY. There is simply NO
justification for Arthur being DENIED the right to profit monetarily from his
own CREATED artifacts, be they drawings, paintings, writings, etc... He is a
human being, a citizen of amerikkka, and he deserves to enjoy the SAME monetary
commerce rights and protection that EVERY other citizen enjoys, without any
regard to the COMPLETELY separate and unrelated issue of whether he has killed
a bunch of humans. Can he personally kill anybody by selling his drawings? By
writing his autobiography? BY becoming a MILLIONAIRE?? No! There is no
CONNECTION of any kind between his legal and harmless chosen money earning
activities, and his past, illegal, murderous activities. His right to earn
money by engaging in harmless, voluntary, legal business activity, deserves to
be JUST as protected as that of any ordinary citizen of amerikkka.
A prison spokesman says: "Inmates are not allowed to run a business while
incarcerated." OUTRAGEOUS! Why the HELL not?? I cannot imagine a RATIONAL,
legitimate reason why your diseased society would deny prison inmates the right
to make money, by engaging in LEGAL and HARMLESS activity. I mean, if you are a
mafia boss and your "business" involves extortion or drug-running, that's a
different story. But to deny a serial killer the right to sell his writings and
drawings to other people, and to KEEP all the money he earns, in this HARMLESS
manner, is simply a perverse violation of the victim turned killers' most basic
constitutional rights.
As expected, the media attention manages to bring out a few relatives of
victims, desperate to bathe in the blood of their loved one, in exchange for
the lure of moolah. Says one relative: "'Who would want to buy artwork or an
autograph from a serial killer? They're disgusting. They're making him out to
be a hero. If any money changes hands, it should go to the children. He left
many children without mothers.'' Yes indeed, CONDEMN victim Arthur as a DEMON,
but in the same breath, make SURE that you get in your verbal request for the
dough, and trot out the FAMOUS line that you only want the money "for the
children". Ha! You creatures justify plenty of your hypocritical bloodthirst by
using the excuse that you "only want what's best for the precious children",
when in reality, NOTHING could be further from the truth, since you LIVE as
members of a GENOCIDALLY child enslaving, mass child torture and murder
ADVOCATING and ENABLING society.
I ADMIRE eBay for REFUSING to bow to perversely hypocritical media and
political pressure, at least for now, and standing behind their right to
continue selling ALL sorts of murder memorabilia, including personal writing
and artwork of famous serial & mass killers. I urge them to NOT bow to media or
political pressure, not matter how intense it gets. STAND UP for YOUR own
constitutional commerce rights, and in the process, at least second-hand, honor
the right of prisoners to sell their artworks and writing as well.
Take care, JOE
The following appears courtesy of yesterday's Associated Press news wire:
State plans inquiry of serial killer art on auction Website
By Associated Press, 09/10/99
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) Artwork by a convicted serial killer from New York that is
being auctioned on the eBay Website is raising eyebrows from state prison
officials.
The auction house lists items reportedly created by Arthur Shawcross, who is
serving a 250-year sentence for killing 11 Rochester-area women.
While 54-year-old Shawcross is not selling the items himself, he does receive
occasional favors from those he sends his artwork to.
The state Department of Correctional Services plans to investigate whether New
York's Son of Sam law is being broken. The law prohibits inmates from profiting
from their crimes.
''Inmates are not allowed to run a business while incarcerated,'' said Michael
Houston, a department spokesman.
Shawcross' art has included several drawings, oil paintings and portraits,
including those of Marilyn Monroe and NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt. One large
portrait sold for $250.
One of his drawings a snake included a description at the auction Website that
made no attempt to hide the background of its maker.
''Shawcross is more famous for the other things he can do with his hands than
his artwork, such as strangling and partially consuming some 11 prostitutes ...
which really makes this weird piece of prison art something the high bidder
will treasure forever!'' it reads.
One of the sellers is art dealer Walter O'Reilly, of Mahopac, Putnam County,
who has received artwork from Shawcross for about a year. He insists that
Shawcross is not paid for his work.
''This is not blood money. He pays for the whole thing himself,'' he said.
However, he may buy gifts, such as clothes or shoes, for Shawcross as a favor
for his work. ''I take care of him,'' O'Reilly said.
''If he sent me a nice painting and I did well on it, I'd get a letter from him
saying, 'Boy, I could really use a pair of sneakers.''' O'Reilly said.
The mother of one victim said she was shocked that someone would use the
notoriety of Shawcross as a marketing advantage.
''Who would want to buy artwork or an autograph from a serial killer? They're
disgusting. They're making him out to be a hero,'' said Liz Vigneri of
Rochester, whose daughter, Maria Welch, was murdered by Shawcross in 1989. ''If
any money changes hands, it should go to the children. He left many children
without mothers.''
Shawcross is being held at the Sullivan County Correctional Facility, 77 miles
northwest of New York City.
-------------------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 9/10/99 online edition of The New York
Post newspaper:
NEW eBLAST AT eBAY AS
KILLER'S ART IS AUCTIONED
By ADAM MILLER
The New York Post
Relatives of mass-murderer Arthur Shawcross' victims ripped online auction
house eBay yesterday for selling his macabre artwork - just days after a human
kidney and unborn children were offered on the popular site.
"This is sickening and disgusting," said Liz Vigneri of upstate Rochester,
whose daughter, Maria Welch, was viciously killed by Shawcross in 1989.
"It's downright despicable. This is blood money, and it's outrageous. What kind
of company would sell art from a serial murderer?" she fumed.
Shawcross, 54, is serving a 250-year prison sentence for the gruesome murders
of 11 women in the Rochester area between March 1988 and January 1990.
"Shawcross is more famous for the other things he can do with his hands than
his artwork, such as strangling and partially consuming some 11 prostitutes ...
which really makes this weird piece of prison art something the high bidder
will treasure forever," reads the description accompanying one of the items.
Shawcross' art includes paintings of race-car driver Dale Earnhardt and screen
legend Marilyn Monroe. One of his works recently sold for $250 on eBay.
While Shawcross - dubbed the "Genesee River Killer" - is prohibited from
profiting from his crimes, he often receives favors from the dealers to whom he
sends his work.
Jennifer Chu, a spokeswoman for eBay, said that while Shawcross' work may be
ghoulish, it's not a crime for them to list it.
For each item sold through its auctions, eBay receives a commission of up to 5
percent.
"While many people might consider this to be in poor taste, there are others
who are very interested in it, and that's what makes eBay so eclectic and
popular," she said.
Chu noted that eBay lists artwork and paraphernalia by - and of - other serial
killers, including Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy and David
Berkowitz.
The Web-based auction house has recently been criticized for offerings to sell
illegal items from eBabies to body parts to a teen's virginity, all of which
were subsequently yanked.
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