An Internet blogger has for months quietly published the jailhouse writings of Joseph Edward Duncan III, hoping the suspected serial killer from Fargo would release details of new crimes, another person with ties to the Web site said today.
The writings, which carry a mostly religious theme, had been known only to a few people besides the FBI and Duncan’s defense team, said blogger Jules Hammer.
That changed Saturday, when Hammer learned someone may have leaked the existence of the site, 5nrevelations.blogspot.com.
Hammer figured word about the new Duncan blog would soon be out, so she disclosed the matter on her own Web site, The Cellar, which she devotes to investigating Duncan.
“We really didn’t want this to come out now,” she said.
Blogs, or Web logs, are Web sites designed to easily publish commentary or photos, like an online diary.
Hammer said she was one of the few people who knew about the secret blog when it began in November. She said she isn’t the one who runs it or corresponds with Duncan.
That person, whom Hammer would not identify, contacted Hammer to discuss whether or not to pursue the idea of publishing for Duncan, she said.
Duncan had a blog he maintained prior to getting caught. The blog referred to in the article above is here.
Here's a taste of what's there:
We Need Tougher Sex Crimes (Uh,…laws)
When will America learn? It seems nobody remembers the result of “getting tough on alcoholics” (the prohibition). It was literally the birth of organized crime in America. Or what about “getting tough on drugs” (the so called “War on drugs”)? We now have over five times more drugs in this country than before! So now we need to get “tough on sex crimes?” That’s synonymous to saying, “We need more sex crime!” It’s really no mystery why. If you take control away from a person who has an obvious need for control (a “sex offender”—just for example) then what do you think they’ll do? Give up? Not likely. They are going to find a way to take control back, at any cost. And guess what? Do you really think they’ll look for a new way to get control, or resort to the one way they know?
Makes a good point about prohibition being the birth of organized crime. At least modern organized crime anyway. Not sure I see the connection to sex crimes, though. The problems with boot legged liquor were solved when the government re-legalized and then regulated booze. Sex crimes aren't the same thing, as this country is hardly going to legalize and regulate things like rape and child molestation. But I guess that's the kind of reasoning you get from a sex criminal.
I'm mixed as to whether or not this sort of thing should be allowed. On one hand you hate to see this sort of gibbering nonsense from people like Duncan made public, lest some naive soul take it to heart. On the other hand, there are free speech issues. And Duncan's writings may well give researchers and scientists some insight into how someone becomes a monster like Duncan is.
This sort of jailhouse communication is hardly unprecedented. Many inmates have published books and articles from prison, and the Son of Sam killer David Berkowitz has had an internet publishing set up similar to Duncan's for years. Though usually I believe this sort of thing goes through prison officials before being made public.