Murderabilia is the trade of keepsakes, souvenirs or products associated with a murder or murderer. It fuels a subculture in America fascinated by murder. Congressman David Reichert proposed legislation to make it illegal to send murderabilia by mail.
Murderabilia refers to keepsakes, souvenirs or products associated with a murder or a murderer, especially serial killers. The murders could come from the crime scene itself, from the investigation, or from an incarcerated or ill killer. These elements fuel a subculture in America both fascinated and repulsed by murder. The call for assassins has also fueled a countermovement to stop profiteering on assassinations.
Some of the most famous murders are works of art. Child killer John Wayne Gayce hid the bodies of 29 young people in the crawl space under his house and killed four others for a total of 33 victims. Prior to his arrest, Gayce was a well-liked neighbor who often dressed up as a clown to entertain children’s parties. He produced paintings of clowns from prison, generating an income of $100,000 US Dollars (USD) before his execution.
Danny Rolling is another inmate who profited from the assassination. Rolling, known as the “Gainesville Ripper,” was convicted of the 1990 murders of five young students in Gainesville, Florida. Rolling was also a prolific prison artist who, with the vicarious help of Sondra London, a serial killer groupie, had her own website for a time featuring his art, writing, and other murders.
While there is great demand for the art of both talented and untalented serial killers, killers with no interest in creative endeavors are turning to other forms of killers. Autographs on scraps of paper, bits of hair, and even toenail clippings all carry a price on the murder market. Collectors might be looking for items like Ed Gein’s stolen headstone, Ted Bundy’s hubcaps, wood chips from a killer’s home, or the refrigerator where Jeffrey Dahmer kept his victims’ body parts.
The selling of murders is extremely offensive to the families of victims, many in law enforcement, and many in the general public who believe that murder should not be rewarded with financial gain. In the mid-1970s, New York approved “The Son of Sam Law” to prevent serial killer Sam Berkowitz from making a profit by selling his story to publishers. Many states have followed their own forms of law, but the language of those laws does not cover murderers.
With the advent of the Internet many forms of killerabilia were being sold online on eBay and other venues. While some sites, including eBay, have changed their policies in an effort to prevent certain types of killers from being traded or sold, the practice continues largely unabated across various online and offline outlets. In most cases, the murders aren’t illegal, and their sale, while distasteful to some, doesn’t break any laws.
US Congressman David Reichert (R-WA) hopes to change that. Reichert was formerly a King County Sheriff and a key member of the Green River Task Force that resulted in the arrest and conviction of Gary Leon Ridgway in 2001. On September 25, 2007, Reichert proposed legislation that would make it illegal to send of murders by mail. Representatives Brad Ellsworth (D-IN) and John Cornyn (R-TX) are co-sponsors of the long-running “Stop the Sale of Murderabilia to Protect the Dignity of Crime Victims Act of 2007.” While the law doesn’t criminalize murder, failure to pass it by mail would cripple sales.
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