Something we true crime readers need to consider

[murielm99]

Have any of you ever been involved in a true crime case? Have you had to testify in an infamous trial, or been involved, even peripherally? My husband was. He is 65 years old now, and this happened when he was still a college student. But if affects him to this day. He seldom speaks of the case. His friends who were involved do not speak of it, either.

Here is a link for a new book about the case: http://www.northplattebulletin.com/index.asp?show=news&action=readStory&storyID=15616&pageID=3

In June, 1965, Duane Pope had just graduated from college. He was a clean-cut all-American boy. He went to Big Springs, Nebraska, robbed a bank and killed three people in cold blood. It was a very shocking crime. Pope was on the FBI's 10 most wanted list while he was on the run. The president of his college appealed to Pope to turn himself in. He did. At his trial, Pope was sentenced to death. His sentence was later commuted to life in prison by the Supreme Court.

My husband lived next door to Duane in their college dorm. The man who was Duane's roommate is still a close friend of my husband's.

The roommate, my husband's friend, testified at the trial. Imagine being a 21-year-old college student from a tiny college in Kansas. Imagine being thrown into the notoriety of a big trial, and having your words and picture in the New York Times and Life Magazine. Imagine the shock of living with someone for three years who turns out to be a monster.

On the rare occasions they have talked about this, my husband and his friend have told me that Pope was unusually mild mannered and polite. He was interested in guns, but he was a farm boy. He had, as his roommate testified, displayed an intense interest in murder and in death row cases after a recent college field trip to a nearby prison. Other than that, there was nothing to indicate any criminal intent.

Of course, after the fact, many people say they have "seen the signs" of mayhem and murder in a future criminal. This may have been true to some extent in Pope. But most people did not see this in him. And even the most eccentric misfits don't necessarily turn to robbery and murder.

My husband's friend, Pope's former roommate, is a devout Catholic, a loving father, and a recently retired special ed. teacher. He still aches for Pope and his victims, but he will not talk about it any more. The last time he breathed a word about it was almost thirty years ago. The last time I tried to bring this up with my husband, he became very upset. It was after a visit with his friend. Instead of talking, my husband went for a long walk, and came back somewhat settled.

Even those on the fringes of a horrific crime are never the same.

I hope that when I read my true crime stories, I can always keep this in mind. These stories are not just sensational, lurid prose. The anguish of the victims and those around them never leaves.

Some of our true crime writers get it right. Anne Rule does. She seems to have compassion for those affected by violent crime. I hope we can all consider her example when we read and discuss these stories.

[old mark]

1. Families of victims never get better - this talk of "Closure" is nonsense -

if a family member is taken by violence, the feelings live on for the life of the other family members.

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