While still in shock over the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the American public quickly received another jolt--shown on live television--when small-time nightclub owner Jack Ruby shot and killed Kennedy's alleged assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald.
Oswald was being moved by authorities through the basement of the Dallas jail when Ruby pushed through the crowd of onlookers and fired one shot from a .38 handgun into Oswald's midsection.
Ruby's birth name was Jacob Leon Rubenstein, but he and his brothers shortened and "Americanized" their last name to Ruby sometime in the late 1940s.
Ruby was suspected of having Mafia connections and had a history of relatively minor offenses: carrying a concealed weapon, ignoring traffic tickets, violations of liquor laws, and assault. Ruby was also suspected of running guns to Fidel Castro and his supporters in Cuba.
Ruby reportedly said that his decision to shoot Oswald was a spur of the minute thing, but conspiracy theories abound about the Mob having ordered him to do the "hit."
Ruby was found guilty and sentenced to death. On appeal, a higher court ruled that Ruby's motion for a change of venue should have been granted, overturned his conviction, and ordered a new trial.
In 1967, before the new trial could commence, Ruby died in prison of a pulmonary embolism.
The photo shown below shows Ruby in happier times while he was serving in the U.S. Air Force in World War II.
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Friday, November 6, 2009
Murderers: Sirhan Sirhan
In 1969, Jerusalem-born Sirhan Bishra Sirhan was convicted of the murder of Senator Robert Kennedy.
Just after having given a speech in a Los Angeles hotel, Kennedy was shot at close range with a .22 pistol and died about a day later.Five other people were wounded as well. Sirhan was immediately taken into custody and pled guilty to the crime.
Sirhan's defense argued that he was suffering from diminished mental capacity, but the jury found him guilty. He was sentenced to death, but that sentence was later commuted to life after the California Supreme Court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional.
A journal of sorts was located, in which Sirhan placed blame for the Six-Day War on Robert Kennedy, who had supported Israel.
Just after having given a speech in a Los Angeles hotel, Kennedy was shot at close range with a .22 pistol and died about a day later.Five other people were wounded as well. Sirhan was immediately taken into custody and pled guilty to the crime.
Sirhan's defense argued that he was suffering from diminished mental capacity, but the jury found him guilty. He was sentenced to death, but that sentence was later commuted to life after the California Supreme Court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional.
A journal of sorts was located, in which Sirhan placed blame for the Six-Day War on Robert Kennedy, who had supported Israel.
Murderers: Michael Skakel
A nephew of Ethel Kennedy, widow of Robert Kennedy, Michael Skakel was in 2002 convicted of murdering a 15-year-old friend and neighbor-- in 1976.
The victim, Martha Moxely of Greenwich, CT, was beaten to death with a golf club, a 6-iron to be exact. Although the club was found to have come from the Skakel home, the case went unsolved until the appearance of a book by ex-Los Angeles cop turned writer Mark Fuhrman--he of O.J. Simpson case fame.
Skakel finally was arrested in 2000, and in 2002 he was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years to life.He has never officially confessed to the crime, but two of his school chums testified that he had confessed it to them.
The victim, Martha Moxely of Greenwich, CT, was beaten to death with a golf club, a 6-iron to be exact. Although the club was found to have come from the Skakel home, the case went unsolved until the appearance of a book by ex-Los Angeles cop turned writer Mark Fuhrman--he of O.J. Simpson case fame.
Skakel finally was arrested in 2000, and in 2002 he was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years to life.He has never officially confessed to the crime, but two of his school chums testified that he had confessed it to them.
Murderers: Pamela Ann Smart
An attractive young woman of 22, with tossing curls and generally good looks, Pamela Smart was in 1991 convicted of planning the murder of her 24-year-old husband, who had admitted that he was having an extramarital affair after less that a year of marriage to Pamela.
A staff member at a New Hampshire high school, Pamela Smart began an affair of her own--with one of that school's students, 15-year-old Billy Flynn.
Prosecutors convinced a jury that Smart threatened to end the affair unless Flynn killed her husband, who in 1990 was found fatally shot in the head. Smart was given a life sentence without parole.
Smart's case was sufficiently sordid that two movies were based on it--one with Helen Hunt and the other with Nicole Kidman.
A staff member at a New Hampshire high school, Pamela Smart began an affair of her own--with one of that school's students, 15-year-old Billy Flynn.
Prosecutors convinced a jury that Smart threatened to end the affair unless Flynn killed her husband, who in 1990 was found fatally shot in the head. Smart was given a life sentence without parole.
Smart's case was sufficiently sordid that two movies were based on it--one with Helen Hunt and the other with Nicole Kidman.
Murderers: Susan Leigh Vaughan Smith
In 1995, Susan Smith of Union, S.C., was convicted of one of the most grisly kinds of murder of them all: that of her own children, ages 3 and 14 months at the time of their deaths.
In 1994, Smith called police and reported that her car, with the children inside, had been hijacked by an African American man. A little more than a week later, however, she confessed to murder.
The children were killed by Smith having rolled her Mazda into John D. Long Lake, where the two tykes drowned. Her motive was not at all clear.
Figuring into Smith's troubled background were her parents' divorce, her father's suicide and later having been sexually molested by her stepfather.
Smith looked dowdy and crazed at her trial, but since being imprisoned has lost weight and has taken on a much more youthful appearance. Two prison guards reportedly have had sex with her.
Smith will be eligible for parole in 2025.
In 1994, Smith called police and reported that her car, with the children inside, had been hijacked by an African American man. A little more than a week later, however, she confessed to murder.
The children were killed by Smith having rolled her Mazda into John D. Long Lake, where the two tykes drowned. Her motive was not at all clear.
Figuring into Smith's troubled background were her parents' divorce, her father's suicide and later having been sexually molested by her stepfather.
Smith looked dowdy and crazed at her trial, but since being imprisoned has lost weight and has taken on a much more youthful appearance. Two prison guards reportedly have had sex with her.
Smith will be eligible for parole in 2025.
Murderers: Jens Soering
Jens Soering, the bookish looking son of a German diplomat, in 1990 was given two life sentences for the 1985 murders of his girlfriend's parents.
Soering was convicted of stabbing to death well-to-do Derek and Nancy Hayson, who lived near Lynchburg, VA.
Both Soering and Elizabeth Haysom were honor students at the University of Virginia at the time of the murders. Both eventually were arrested, and Soering confessed, thinking that due to diplomatic immunity, he would be sent to Germany to stand trial as a juvenile.
During his trial, however, he recanted his confession, saying he had confessed so that Elizabeth would not get the death penalty.
Both were spared the ultimate penalty, and both will likely spend the rest of their lives in prison. Soering spends much of his time writing and has published several books, both in English and in his native German.
Soering was convicted of stabbing to death well-to-do Derek and Nancy Hayson, who lived near Lynchburg, VA.
Both Soering and Elizabeth Haysom were honor students at the University of Virginia at the time of the murders. Both eventually were arrested, and Soering confessed, thinking that due to diplomatic immunity, he would be sent to Germany to stand trial as a juvenile.
During his trial, however, he recanted his confession, saying he had confessed so that Elizabeth would not get the death penalty.
Both were spared the ultimate penalty, and both will likely spend the rest of their lives in prison. Soering spends much of his time writing and has published several books, both in English and in his native German.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Murderers: Dan White
Homophobic Dan White, ex-city supervisor in San Francisco, shot and killed that city's mayor, George Moscone, and supervisor Harvey Milk in 1978.
Milk was one of the very first U.S. politicians to come out openly as gay. White, a young man having a mop of dark hair and a cleft chin, entered City Hall through a basement window and shot first the mayor, then Milk.
White's defense team argued that depression had caused their client to eat an unaccustomed amount of junk food, which, they reasoned, helped cause his violent actions.
The term "the Twinkie defense" was much discussed but didn't work but so well for White, who was found guilty of manslaughter and was sentenced to five years.
San Francisco's gay community was outraged by the light sentence and protested violently in what came to be known as the White Night Riots.
White was paroled after five years and then returned to San Francisco. He committed suicide in 1985 by carbon monoxide asphyxiation in his estranged wife's garage.
Milk was one of the very first U.S. politicians to come out openly as gay. White, a young man having a mop of dark hair and a cleft chin, entered City Hall through a basement window and shot first the mayor, then Milk.
White's defense team argued that depression had caused their client to eat an unaccustomed amount of junk food, which, they reasoned, helped cause his violent actions.
The term "the Twinkie defense" was much discussed but didn't work but so well for White, who was found guilty of manslaughter and was sentenced to five years.
San Francisco's gay community was outraged by the light sentence and protested violently in what came to be known as the White Night Riots.
White was paroled after five years and then returned to San Francisco. He committed suicide in 1985 by carbon monoxide asphyxiation in his estranged wife's garage.
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