Yesterday, I went to the studios of Inside Edition to be interviewed. People want to know what it feels like to have been photographed by a serial killer. How does it feel know that my life could have easily ended in June of 1979 along with the other victims? Inquiring minds also want to know how I feel about Rodney Alcala.
Do a search on “stuck by lightning twice” and you will discover that the odds of being struck by lightning once are 1/3000. The odds of being struck twice are 1/9,000,000. Since there are 300,000,000 people in America this unusual event has happened.
What does a person who was nearly struck by lightning once, and then actually struck 23 years later say about the near miss in the distant past?
An Ohio man Larry Reynolds, was actually struck by lightning twice and he says he feels “glad to be alive!” (How surprising is that?) I too feel glad to be alive. But also feel the need to say genug* and to try to get more justice for the real victims.
Justice for the victims means doing something to reduce the dangerousness of known violent psychopaths.
It is not enough to dispose of or imprison Alcala, we must change the system that enables psychopaths to strike over and over again.
At the time Alcala photographed me he had already been convicted of two violent crimes**. When he was 24, Alcala kidnapped, sexually assaulted and tried to kill an 8 year old girl, hitting her over the head with a pipe. He escaped and was a fugitive for two years before he was arrested in Concord, N.H., living under the assumed name of “John Berger.” He was arrested in August, 1971 after someone saw his picture on a wanted poster.
He also assaulted a 15 year old girl he lured in the guise of wanting to take her picture.
After these two incidents, Alcala killed at least 5.
There is no doubt in 2010 that Alcala is a psychopath. In the 1970s we didn’t have any reliable method for diagnosing psychopathy, but today we do. The PCL-R when administered by trained professionals can diagnose psychopathy with excellent reliability.
I therefore propose that all individuals convicted of violent or sexual assault be evaluated with the PCL-R and thoroughly assessed by trained professionals not hired by the prosecution or defense, prior to sentencing. The purpose of this assessment would be to inform the judge and jury of the presence of psychopathy and other risk factors that indicate the offender will do the same thing or worse again.
Juries and judges should be able to sentence an offender to life-time supervision. We need to train forensic professionals to do the job of monitoring these individuals and we need to watch psychopaths closely if they are released into society. We should stop simply turning convicted psychopaths over to their families who haven’t the slightest idea what to do with them (more on that next week).
I made the above recommendation to Paul Boyd of Inside Edition. He impressed me as a real reporter who was interested in the issues; someone who takes the ethical implications of his job seriously. I just hope his editors give him the freedom to tell this story.
Please everyone get beyond the silliness of “OMG what does it feel like to be struck by lightning twice?” and instead tackle the real question of what to do about sociopaths/psychopaths.
At the end of March, I spoke with a reporter from People Magazine for over an hour and am sorry that I failed to convince him to do a real story and exercise real journalism- or maybe the tabloid editors just wouldn’t publish the real story. However, if you want to see pictures, I am in this weeks’ issue “OMG”!
*a Yiddish word that means ENOUGH, pronounced ganoog
**for more see http://www.ocregister.com/news/alcala-236499-phase-girl.html?pic=4
Way to go LEARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Wahoo!
Silvermoon…
Inspired by you, Buttons, everyone at LF and my children….xoxo
No more waiting on the world to change. Lets create the change we wish to make!!!
xoxo
Learning, EXCELLENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Each one of us is saying the same things in such different and indidual wasy! WOW, how powerful is that????
….that would be, “individual”…….
I agree with you, Learning – waiting won’t get the word out. Hoping that someone else will do it won’t get the word out. And, wishes that someone will take the initiative won’t get the word out.
About wishes:
If wishes were fishes, then world hunger wouldn’t be an issue. I can’t remember who said that, but it’s golden.
No mas.
No mas.
Andele Chica!
Dear Buttons,
Thank you for that compliment. I don’t take compliments well, LOL hold over from my egg donor’s expectations that I be perfect. LOL
The support I got from Donna, the authors here, and the other bloggers when I came to LF over two years ago (can’t remember just when) kept me from going off the deep end. I had been on another site, owned by “Dr.” Sam Vaknin who is a self proclaimed Narcissist, but in actuallity has learned how to make a living pretending to be caring Narcissist. (He is not) but on one of his sites, I was “persecuted” by the “moderators” for talking about any spiritual belief, and personally I think that even people who don’t believe in any higher power have a “spiritual belief”—and I also think that a spiritual component is NECESSARY to our healing. I don’t think it has to be MY spiritual belief for YOU, and whatever your belief is I salute and honor it as your belief. When I came here I realized that Donna Honors a spiritual belief, rather than persecutes one, and that was why I first came here, but the wonderfull and caring support, the lack of flaming by other posters (Donna will NOT tolerate it) etc. kept me here.
Every day I learn more here, or get a new insight, and like peeling the onion, get to a little deeper place, a little better place. Some days I go backwards, but for the most part, I amm headed in the right direction toward HEALING. But it is a JOURNEY not a destination. When I was traumatized by a P in the past, I thought healing was a destination, and it is only NOW that I recognize it is the JOURNEY and I must never again get off and stay off that HEALING PATH. There is always going to be more to learn. And, there will always be Ps out there that may try to tempt me to follow them into the darkness, but I must continue daily to keep and make myh own PEACE, MY OWN HAPPINESS.
I can encourage you, and you can encourage me, but I can’t do it for you, and you can’t do it for me. It’s like being born or dying, we have to do it for ourselves. I hope my words do encourage others, but I also need the words of the bloggers here to encourage me, and the articles with new points of view, new information to learn with which to continue my journey. ((((hugs))))) and my prayers for everyone here.
I posted about my reaction last night to the 48 hours Mystery about the Rodney Acala and somehow “lost” the thread so this is about him. I’d like the opinon of others who might have watched that show.
That man is soooo EVIL and the announcer said that 4 more girls’ deaths had been linked to him in NY state during the time he was on the run after he mutilated and hurt that 8 year old in LA that the cops caught him IN THE ACT—but he ran out the back door while they came in the front and rather than chance him, they took care of the girl who probably had only seconds to live without immediate aid. Thank God she survived!
She was at the sentencing hearing for Alcala and testified, she is a VICTOR not a victim!
Acala, who has presumably brutally murdered 10+ young women, but 5 for sure, is EVIL, is the worst of the EVIL ones….could have been stopped if the law had been enforced as it should/could have been and ALL those murdered girls could have been saved. A*L*L those girls.
If it is any consolation, he will at least die on death row in prison. He may not live long enough to be executed, but he will die there on death row.
When he played the lyrics of Arlo Gutherie’s songs and said to the jury that they would “participate in the killing of another human” if they gave him the death penalty..,..trying to PROJECT AND GASLIGHT the jury and make them feel guilty for putting a piece of garbage like him to death! Didn’t take them long either to decide to DO IT EITHER….I don’t think after what they knew about what he did that any of them had any trouble sleeping either.
I am usually not for the death penalty (and for sure not the way it is delayed and delayed like it is in the US) because there are times when it is given when there is no REAL EVIDENCE that the person is truly guilty—in Acala’s case, there is a great deal of DNA evidence in addition to eye witness identification (Eye witness is often WRONG, about 60% of the time in fact) but DNA off the “trophies” of his victims that he kept and off their clothing and bodies—multiple girls, multiple samples, to say nothing of the photographs of the girls who are missing that were found in his locker. Just TOO much evidence in FIVE murder cases to leave ANY doubt, much less a reasonable one.
Alaca is one of the rare exceptions to my objections to the death penalty as administered here in the US.
Oxy,
Watched the 48 hours show last night.
That song was just over the top!
I really admire the mother (blonde with short hair)….and here tenacity through her pain. She wishes for him to be dead at least one day prior to her….so she can be happy.
She brought a gun to court one day……and was gonna shoot him ‘right between the eyes’. She said her daughter held her wrist. (the D whom Alcala Killed).
It also gave me chills, as I grew up in this area and knew the scenery.
I always find it interesting when facing big charges, the accused represents themselves. WHAT AN IDIOT!
They have no way of knowing the ‘ins and outs’ of the law……it’s learn as you go……and by the time he learns it…..it’s too late!
Taking the stand! What a gift to the prosecution!!!!
They just can’t balance their ego’s……and they think they’ve done no wrong. And talk talk talk talk. It’s the perpetual con.
Eeesh!
Hang the mofo!!!
I have a gf who’s daughter was ‘befreinded’ by a con couple when she was in High School.
She babysat for them in their big fancy house….
Soon, once the D was hooked they couldn’t afford to pay her….lost their house and moved to another house. (nice one).
The couple bragged about their homes…..and all the toys and boats/cars etc…..
The story of the con continued to ‘today’…….6 years later.
My gf and her husband decided they needed to ‘get involved’ with this couple as their only child was so consumed by them…..and they could feel them losing their D.
So they did.
The con couple continued having babies….and pushed my gf, to be ivolved with the children. godparents to kids. (MY gf is catholic and takes this roll VERY seriously).
When I found out my gf was ‘friends’ with this couple……I couldn’t contain myself.
I went into do you realize their cons……talk.
She defended them…..all people make mistakes and we are concerned for the chilren 4 kids under 6 years old now.
Well…..the couple were arrested…..he was convicted of 86 counts of wire fraud, money laundering and another charge.
She is charged with 37 similar counts.
He’s been in jail for 2 years…..she’s out on bail…….conning everyone around her!
Her case has been delayed and delayed……and last month, she motioned the court to defend HERSELF and her husband.
Okay…..she’s a smart woman, who’s been doing her research……BUT…..the ccharges are very serious……
she’s trying to prove the govmt lied, fraud…….
She’s playing the victim…….and it ain’t gonna fly.
The judge made it clear when he granted her and okay…..that there will be NO MORE DELAYS in this case.
He also made it clear she will lose some of her appeal rights if she self represents.
Like….you can’t charge your attorney with ineffective representation…….
My gf has finally woken up……I was very concerned, as gf was giving con couple money and they’ve already been taken BIG once and lost their retirement.
Gf’s pulled away, stopped giving money and has learned about socipaths……she’s come so far.
NOW…..she calls me with stories of the womans cons……
Cons to the church, wellfare, he daughter, another dupe she’s recently pulled in, her inlaws, the kids school…..
She see’s it! Clearly.
She say’s…….when this woman calls her with her sob stories…….she hears my voice saying……..SHE”S A CON!
I told her dont be shocked if she and hubby and D get subpeonas…….guess what came this weeek!
The daughter is still conned…..but at least my gf has woken up and seen the light blinding her!
I am so proud of her……
I keep her aprised of the case via pacer……and she’s shocked at how much we can find out on our own……and it just so happens to be contradictory to when the con tells her.
I told her she can’t save her daughter, but when she pulls away and goes NC……her d will soon see the light too……
Dear Erin,
It is like those folks who were conned by the Rebel mormon prophet and the Tony Alamo bunch, and the Jonestown group and every other con in the world. David Korish (or how ever it is spelled) people get their mind made up and NO ONE CAN CONVINCE THEM DIFFERENT.
My little old neighbor I found out from his DTR that he has been conned for YEARS by a Nigerian type scam and every dollar he can lay hands on he wires to this guy–she and her brother took him to the Law to prove to him it is a SCAM and he is convinced that EVERYONE IS CONSPIRING TO KEEP HIM FROM GETTING WEALTHY! While He was standing on my porch there was a cell phone call from this scammer.
Funny thing is back a year or two before my husband died, he put together a computer out of spare parts we had and internet hook up for the couple because they couldn’t afford a more expensive computer and she wanted to get on the computer–and my guess is that is how the scammer got hold of my friend. His DTR said it was before his wife’s death, so I guess that was it. DAMN!!!!!
Son D got home and I’m going to send him down to check on neighbor today when he goes out to get a sunday paper!
This scammer thing is like an addictiion, there is NO withdrawl because to withdraw would be to admit to yourself that YOU HAVE BEEN A FOOL! Does that “resonate” with anyone! LIKE ME!!! YEP, I’VE BEEN A COMPLETE FOOL, SCAMMED BY SOMEONE AS OBVIOUS AS THE NIGERIAN CREEP!
I am no better and no smarter than my little old neighbor! The ONLY difference is that I FINALLY got wise! I finally admitted to myself that I had been played by those I loved—-and I forgave myself for loving them when it was as obvious as a pile of cat crap in the living room floor that they did NOT love me.
My “greed” is similar to the greed my neighbor feels for the money the Nigerian is telling him he will get if he just keeps on feeding money into the rat hole. Only my GREED was for the love I was being offered as I poured money and love into the RAT HOLE my cons were telling would produce an ABUNDANCE of LOVE!
While at least I didn’t wait until I was too senile to even grasp the concept, I finally escaped. I am not sure my little old neighbor will ever escape or heal if he does escape financially or physically.
He is in the last year(s) of his life, and his thinking is no longer straight, and he is lonely and desperate (His daughter says he hasn’t been right since his open heart surgery—and some mental deterioration is not uncommon after open heart surgery) He is driving away what the family support he does have.
Unfortunately, my neighbor’s story is nothing UNIQUE, and it doesn’t only happen to the elderly, senile or demented. It happens to smart, educated, bright, good people with all their stuff intact.
I know I can’t “save” him, but at the same time I’ll do what I can for him, not expecting a lot, but I do realize he is not much more responsible for where he is than a child would be and I can’t stand by and not try to protect a child or someone like my neighbor if I can do it. It just isn’t me to abandon the helpless, but I do realize sometimes no matter what you do, it ain’t gonna work.