"If this does not qualify for the death sentence, then there is no case that would''

[The Mad Monk]

Police: Fresno Suspect Was a Polygamist
By BRIAN SKOLOFF

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - A man suspected of killing nine of his family members lived a life characterized by police as bizarre - committing polygamy and incest, even fathering two of his victims with his own daughters.

Marcus Wesson, 57, was arrested Friday after emerging blood-covered from his home, where authorities found nine bodies in a back room tangled and intertwined with clothing. His demeanor was described by officers as ``very calm.''





Wesson was cooperating with authorities, who planned to charge him with nine counts of murder, said police Chief Jerry Dyer.

``If this does not qualify for the death sentence, then there is no case that would,'' Dyer said.


Investigators later determined the victims included six females and three males, ranging in age from 1 to 24 and probably Wesson's children and grandchildren.


Six coroners, triple the typical weekend staff, worked Saturday to determine how the victims died. Police said believe they know the cause of death but would not release that information.


``I can tell you that there were no mutilations,'' the police chief said. ``The bodies were intact.''


Police planned to serve another search warrant but Dyer would not say where, adding, ``We have not ruled out the involvement of any other suspects.''


Officers were called to the home Friday afternoon for a child custody dispute. What they found inside was ghastly: bodies so entangled that it took hours for investigators to reach a final count and 10 wooden caskets lining a wall of a front room. The department's cult expert is helping with the investigation.


Some of the first officers into the house were placed on administrative leave and received counseling Friday night. Six police chaplains were at the house throughout the evening as detectives continued to gather evidence.


``I've been with the Fresno Police Department for 25 years, and I've never experienced anything of this nature,'' said Dyer, who wiped his eyes Friday night as officers carried bodies out of the home, cradling the youngest ones in their arms.


Wesson had children with at least four women, including two of his daughters, and authorities are investigating whether he had other female sexual partners as well.


None of the women with whom Wesson had children had been identified Saturday.


Wesson had once lived with five women and appeared to have a romantic relationship with each, said Frank Muna, an acquaintance. The women seemed to be under Wesson's control, walking behind him and not speaking when he was present, he said.


``The neighbors felt there was some weird kind of polygamy commune thing going on,'' said Muna, a defense lawyer who sold the remains of his burned-out house to Wesson and the women in 1999. Wesson moved to a different house about eight months ago, in part because of neighbors' complaints, Muna said.


Dyer said two women who called authorities to the home Friday told officers they had given custody of their children to Wesson two years ago and came to retrieve them.


Neighbors described seeing many women at the house, dressed in long dresses and sometimes with veils covering their faces, Dyer said.


The neighbors themselves said they knew little about Wesson or the single-story house where a large yellow bus was parked in the driveway. On the sidewalk Saturday were stuffed animals, balloons and flowers left by passers-by.


``He never said 'Hi,''' said Linda Morales. ``I'd drive by and he'd make a point to turn his face.''


Wesson's behavior had become more bizarre and his appearance more disheveled in the last three years, said Muna, the acquaintance.


``A lot of what he was saying wasn't relevant to what we were discussing,'' he said. ``He grew that one big, long, nasty dreadlock. It was just caked with dirt and oil.''


Wesson seemed aware people were scared of him and that made him laugh, said Lois Dugovic, who owns the antique store where Wesson bought the coffins about five years ago.


Dugovic herself was at first frightened by Wesson's appearance. ``He sure didn't look the part of a normal person.''


Dyer said police had not determined why the caskets were in the home; Dugovic said Wesson told her that he was going to use the mahogany wood to repair a houseboat.


The nine deaths represent the largest mass killing ever in Fresno, a city of 440,000 about 190 miles southeast of San Francisco. Seven people were killed in rural Fresno in 1993.


``The only thing we can do now is mourn. We mourn for the kids, we mourn for the police,'' said Mayor Alan Autry. ``We will never be the same again.''


Associated Press Writer Brian Melley contributed to this report.

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/sto...0040313CAJC102

[Whaleboy]

I'm against and still against DP.

The man needs to be locked in a mental home.

[Tripledoc]

What a confusing poll.

[The Mad Monk]

What, you from Florida or something?

I decided to see if this case could change people's minds -- at least as far as this case is concerned. It's horrific, and there's little if any doubt that he did it.

I'd be interested to learn what folks do think would be just.

[Bereta_Eder]

There is no spoon. And no death penalty.

[The Mad Monk]

Then what is there, P?

[Bereta_Eder]

Sentinels

[Whaleboy]

An insufficient argument for DP.

There will never be such an argument. I love Hume.

[alva]

What, you from Florida or something?

There will never be such an argument.

[civman2000]

I agree with the title. This case does not qualify for the death sentence. Nor is there any case that would.

[Dr Strangelove]

He bought the caskets 5 years ago? Sheeesh. He must have sired a couple of the kids within that period of time. Imagine the mentality of someone having kids just so that he could murder them.

[Urban Ranger]

There's no point to capital punishment other than vengence.

[Seeker]

I smell religious quackery.

They should add disclaimers all over the Old Testament:

'No you are not God.'

'We said NOT'

We SAID NO!!'

for all the thinking impaired.

apparently according to his bro-inlaw he thought he was god.

[mrmitchell]

I'm against and still against DP.

The man needs to be locked in a mental home.

[Zulu Elephant]

Two arguments for the death penalty applied to this case:

Deterrent - The guy's clearly insane so there's no reason to believe that any deterrent would have made any difference

Punishment - Should we be really punishing the insane? Obviously he has to be locked up to protect society but can someone so clearly insane be held so responsible for their actions that they should be killed.


...although I'd never support the DP regardless of mental state.

[Spiffor]

What Civman said

[NeOmega]

If he is guilty, he needs to die. If not he needs to be left alone by the world.

[DinoDoc]

Why are we assuming the guy is insane?

[Zulu Elephant]

anyone who kills kids is insane

anyone who thinks they are god is insane

anyone who kills a load of people for no reason and is calm afterwards is insane

[DinoDoc]

I don't see how you arruve at that conclusion.

[Zulu Elephant]

simple

I just dont believe in good and evil

Structuralism

[The Mad Monk]

The legal definition of insanity is that the person in question does not realize that what he is doing is wrong.

[DinoDoc]

That doesn't answer the question.

[mrmitchell]

Well, the article was a little confusing, but if he had multiple kids with 5 wives, and more kids with some of his daughters, and had them all so he could kill them, and thought he was God...

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by The Mad Monk
What, you from Florida or something?

I decided to see if this case could change people's minds -- at least as far as this case is concerned. It's horrific, and there's little if any doubt that he did it.

I'd be interested to learn what folks do think would be just.

I think that cases like these - that are just completely insane - aren't as good examples of why we need the death penalty as cases where the killer is quite plainly and consciously evil. For instance, I think the death penalty is not only an acceptable punishment for treason, but the one that should be applied.

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by mrmitchell
Well, the article was a little confusing, but if he had multiple kids with 5 wives, and more kids with some of his daughters, and had them all so he could kill them, and thought he was God...

Well, he did act God-like, so maybe it was true.

[Whaleboy]

Zulu:

I don't see how you arruve at that conclusion.

I think what he's getting at is that within the context of a society (rather than making a canonical statement), in order to kill one has to be mentally insane, since the rest of us seem to have a mental barrier to doing so. Those people are insane and should be placed into mental homes.

Now as for the DP, you could argue that that saves resources. However, they have committed the crime, but you are making the proposition of a punishment, and taking that person into your care. Because of the question of risk, that is, at the moment of death is that person a threat to those who have taken him into care, allowing him to die in that case constitutes murder.

The only way a DP would be justifiable would be DIRECTLY saving the life of another victim, i.e., if someone has a gun to my head, and a police officer has a gun to the perps head, the officer has the right to pull the trigger. The legitimacy of state-sponsored death ends there.

[Zulu Elephant]

Originally posted by The Mad Monk
The legal definition of insanity is that the person in question does not realize that what he is doing is wrong.

Well he's killed a load of people. After the first murder he must have either decided that what he was doing was not wrong (therefore insane) or felt some kind of uncontrollable urge to keep doing something which he though was wrong (I would say insane too)

There are four aspects to sentancing (whether it be jail, a fine or whatever)

Punishment - Eye for an eye(ish) etc.

Rehabilitation - Making people see the error of their ways and change

Detterant - Trying to make people think of what will happen to them if they commit a crime

Keeping Society safe - If a murderer is in prison, they cant keep killing people

The death penalty cant be squared with these because of what I said about punishing the insane

It doesnt have a rehab side, Its not a detterant to the insane and you can keep society safe by locking them up - you dont have to go as far as killing them

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Whaleboy
I think what he's getting at is that within the context of a society (rather than making a canonical statement), in order to kill one has to be mentally insane, since the rest of us seem to have a mental barrier to doing so.

I don't see how one arrives at the conclusion that people who kill others must by definition be insane. So far neither one of you seem to be able to provide anything resembling substance to support that conclusion.

[Mercator]

When I saw this on the news yesterday, I actually saw one of his neighbors (?) saying that he was a very friendly guy, always saying "hi" etc... While this article seems to only show everyone thought he was a loony... Not that that makes much difference if he killed all those people...

And, no, this case doesn't qualify for the death penalty, nor is this the worst it can get... Would you really consider this guy worse than, say, Saddam? That police officer was just being a little emotional, which is obviously entirely understandable.