To many, Pogo the Clown was a lovable character who would entertain the community. But, behind the face paint was John Wayne Gacy, an American rapist and murderer, who sexually assaulted and murdered at least thirty-three teenage boys between 1972 and 1978. By this time, the public’s perception of him would be forever changed and he earned the nickname the “Killer Clown”. This report will cover a brief background on John Wayne Gacy, facts of his case, what makes his crime notorious, the law was used in his case and the decision made by the court, the sentence he received, if I think the punishment was fair and the social consequences of his crime.
Notorious serial killer, John Wayne Gacy, was born on the 17th March 1942 in Chicago Illinois and died on May 10th 1994 at age 52, at the Statesville Correctional Centre, Crest Hill, Illinois. Gacy, along with his two sisters, unfortunately grew up with an abusive father, mentally and physically abused the children and their mother
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His actions were not condonable in any way and as a result he should receive the law’s fullest extent of punishment for what he did, which at the time was the death penalty in Illinois. As someone who had done something as horrific was murdering and raping thirty-three people, there was no amount of rehabilitation Gacy could receive so that he could fit into society. Furthermore, he had already served jail time for sexual assaults prior to his murders and already had a second chance in redeeming himself in the public eye. Attorney Karen Conti, an attorney working for Gacy, even said that “he was the poster child for the death penalty,’’ and that “everyone said: ‘I don’t believe in the death penalty, but for Gacy, yes.’” Thus, I feel that the death penalty was suitable for John Wayne Gacy’s malicious