Introduction/Background Information
Joseph Paul Franklin was born on 13th April 1950 in Mobile Alabama, United States. He was the eldest son in a family of four members and his father was a World War II veteran. However, he left the family when Vaughn was eight years. Notably, Franklin’s biological name was James Clayton Vaughn and he later changed his name to Joseph Paul Franklin in 1976. The reason for changing his name as because he wanted to join the Rhodesian Army and due to his criminal background, he was forced to change the name. Joseph Paul was a minister for propaganda during the reign of Adolph Hitler while the name Franklin was inspired by Benjamin Franklin, an American founder.
Joseph Paul Franklin came from a very poor background despite his father being a World War II veteran. His father was very abusive while his mother was very strict. However, most of this domestic violence was targeted to Franklin.
The Crime
From 1977 to 1980, Joseph Franklin confessed of having committed more than twenty murders. However, the killing of Gerald Gordon, resulted in his execution on November 20, 2013. This was after the jury found him guilty of murder. Due to the numerous serious crimes he had committed, the Missouri’s correctional facility ruled that he be executed through lethal injection. He was injected with a 5 grams of pentobarbital.
On Saturday of 8th 1877, Franklin has planned an ambush in a synagogue. On this particular, he camped outside the synagogue for worshippers to emerge out. Shortly, several guests emerged out of the synagogue. As they walked towards their cars, Franklin fired fire shots from approximately a hundred meters. Gerald Gordon was one of the people who were shot. He was shot on the left hand side of the chest. He was later pronounced dead. This is because, after the gun shot, he lost a lot of blood because of the damaged lung, spleen, stomach and other internal organs.
Materials
Different materials were used to analyze the crime scene where the killing of Gerald Gordon took place. After Franklin executed his mission, he abandoned his riffle and the guitar case as he used his bicycle to escape from the crime scene to the parking lot where he had parked his car. Unfortunately, he had scratched off the serial number of the riffle to conceal evidence and make it difficult for the police to track it down. However, the bicycle which was hidden in the bushes was retrieved and used by the investigators to carry out further forensic investigations.
Forensic Methods used to Collect Evidence
The forensic methods used were, fingerprint analysis, luminol spray, DNA sequencer and ballistics.
Crimes
Franklin’s actions were hedged upon the need to wipe up the black race that he perceived as inferior. As such, he used to drift along the east coast looking for targets with the primary targets being the Americans and the Jews. For instance, on July 25th 1977, Franklin planted a load of dynamite that he detonated outside the house of Morris Amitay. However, Amitay did not die by the explosive led to the death of a 6-month child. After several years later, Franklin confessed of this crime while he was serving a prison sentence.
Additionally, on 6th March 1978, Franklin killed Larry Flynt using a 44 caliber rifle. Larry Flynt was a publisher with the Hustler magazine. The main reason behind Flynt’s killing was because he had published a post depicting a white and a black couple having an interracial sex. This view disgusted Franklin and he vowed to track down Flynt and on this fateful day, he managed to kill him together with his lawyer. Besides, on the same year, Franklin was on a mission as he killed Bryant Tatum, a black man, using a 12-gauge shotgun. Tatum was killed for having close contact with Nancy Hilton, who was white. Notably, during the same ambush Tatum’s girlfriend, Nancy Hilton, was injured although she did not die.
On July 12th 1979, Franklin killed Harold Mclver through his window. The motive of his killed was because he was interacting with white women and Franklin did not deem it as right. Several years later, after his arrest, Franklin made a confession of this killing. Similarly, on May 29th 1980, Franklin shot and severely wounded Vernon Jordan Jr. Jordan was a civil rights movement and an Urban League president who advocated for peace and equality in the United States (Clark Prosecutor, 2021). However, he did not die. Additionally, as Franklin was waiting for a black couple on a cross bridge, he fired at the couple as they approached. Unfortunately, he missed the shots and ended up killing Darrell Lane and Dante Evans Brown, two cousins. Later the same year, Franklin killed Nancy Santomero and Vicki Durian using a 44 Ruger pistol. The couple were killed and Franklin confessed of this act later after he was arrested.
Conviction and Imprisonment
Franklin was arrested in 1997 and was convicted of murdering seven people and many others that were unknown. During the trail, he confessed of killing more than 20 people although it was not possible for his to keep the body count. During the 1997 trial of murdering Gerald Gordon, he had attempted to escape albeit being unfortunate (Ayton, 2011). The psychiatrist indicated that Gordon was mentally unfit to stand trial and thus, his sentencing was postponed. He was later imprisoned at Potosi Correctional Centre were he was put on a death row. After more than 15 years in prison, the Missouri State Supreme announced that Franklin’s execution was to take place in November.
Court Ruling and Execution
However, Franklin’s execution was very complicated. This is because the European drug manufacturers were not willing to have their drugs used for the elimination of Franklin. As such, the Missouri correctional facility had to look for a alternative method. The correctional facility opted for a new method of lethal injection (Ayton, 2011), although the method was unproven. Some of the critiques indicated that the injection would induce unnecessary pain Franklin. Nonetheless, a single dose of the lethal injection was administered and within ten minutes, he had died. Witnesses reported that there was no pain as Franklin never showed such signs.
Besides, few days before Franklin’s execution, U.S District Judge, Nanette Laughrey gave a say of execution. There were concerns over the new method of execution. Franklin was deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial. An appeal court overturned both stays of execution. Franklin was executed in Missouri on 20th November 2013. During his execution, he renounced his racist views and indicated that, during his time in the prison, he came to learn that Jews and blacks were just like him.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Joseph Paul Franklin was an American serial killer whose sole purpose was to clean humanity as he purported. He indicated that he perceived the African America as inferior and thus killing them was the only way. He aimed at starting a race war. From 1977 to 1980, he confessed to have killed more than 20 people. In 1997, he was arrested and convicted of a first degree murder. However, the psychiatrist noted that Franklin was not mentally stable to stand trail. Franklin was later executed on 30th November 2013 though a lethal drug injection.