Jan 28th 2009 By Howard Altman

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Should Murderbilia Be Legal?

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Who would pay $9,000 for a book of paintings by serial killer John Wayne Gacy, or over $12,000 for the original death sentence of the "NYC Cannibal" Albert Fish? Murderbilia collectors -- people who see the hobby as a way to connect with famous killers. Victims' families, however, tend to view the practice as a twisted scheme to make a quick buck off of horrible, violent acts.

Should a hobby that capitalizes on crime be legal? Legislators have tried to outlaw the practice, but would such a law also infringe on rights guaranteed by the Constitution?

We spoke with four people who have strong opinions about murderbilia: Tod Bohannon, operator of MurderAuction.com; Mark Lunsford, whose daughter was murdered; Joe Hiles, owner of SerialKillerCentral.com; and victims' advocate Andy Kahan.

Read what they have to say, vote in our poll at the bottom of the page and tell us what you think.

Jan 28th 2009 By Howard Altman

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Should Murderbilia Be Legal? Mark Lunsford, Father of Victim

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Mark Lunsford, father of a murdered daughter
In 2005, John Evander Couey kidnapped, raped and murdered Lunsford's 9-year-old daughter Jessie.

What Lunsford thinks of Murderauction.com:
Earlier this year, Lunsford was shocked and disgusted to see a letter from Couey was being sold on Murderauction.com. "Why on earth would you want something like that?" asks Lunsford, who flies around the country lobbying for tighter controls over sexual predators like Couey.

"How happy could it make you to get a letter from a murderer -- and not just a murderer, but someone who raped and killed an innocent little girl? That sh*t should be illegal, man." Understandably, Lunsford can't fathom why anyone would want anything from a killer, let alone semen-stained shorts.

Are murderbilia collectors criminals?
Lunsford wonders if people who collect murderabilia aren't themselves predisposed to such vile acts. "When you buy the graffiti of people who commit murder, are you fantasizing about being like that person?" he asks. "We have created a monster with the Internet and now we have to control it. No one should be allowed to sell items that belong to murderers, child rapists or child pornographers."

Lunsford's suggestion for murderbilia collectors:
"Is that your scam to get rich or make money?" asks a father whose daughter was raped and murdered. "Can't get a job? I will give you a job. If you can find all these things on your Web sites to hurt people, why not put your knowledge to work and find the pedophiles we can't find? There are only 150,000 of them."



Jan 28th 2009 By Howard Altman

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Should Murderbilia Be Legal? Joe Hiles, SerialKillerCentral.com

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Joe Hiles: owner of SerialKillerCentral.com
Joe Hiles always had an interest in true crime books. "Mostly about serial killers," says the 30-year-old from Sabina, Ohio. "I once read a book about Richard Ramirez and in it, it said he spent his time in prison writing letters to people on the outside, so I thought I'd give it a try," says Hiles. Ramirez replied. "It kind of snowballed from there." Like Bohannon, Hiles began collecting and eventually started his own Web site – Serial Killer Central, or skcentral.com.

What's on Skcentral.com?
Aside from selling collectibles -- like a baseball autographed in prison by Manson and Juan Corona – skcentral.com has articles, discussion forums and rich media assets.

Serial Killer Memorabilia

    Charles Manson red and black tarantula from San Quentin Prison, 1986. Recently offered for sale ($950) on Serial Killer Central.

    Copy of the Black Dahlia wanted poster, recently up for bidding on MurderAuction.com.

    John Wayne Gacy original oil painting titled "The Making of Pogo." Recently up for sale ($4,500) on Serial Killer Central.

    Ed Gein signed greeting card with crucifix from Wisconsin Hospital for the Insane. 1983. Recently up for sale ($12,500) on Serial Killer Central.

    Charles Manson and Juan Corona autographed baseball, entitled "You Got It Cold Soul," 1999 Recently up for sale ($2,100) on Serial Killer Central.

    A signed O.J. Simpson USC Trojans jersey. Simpson added the inscription "Heisman '68." Recently up for bid on MurderAuction.com.

    A Charles Manson signed and fingerprinted piece entitled "Hanging Man" including a 13-inch lock of his hair. Includes signed prison documents pertaining to Involuntary Haircut at Corcoran Prison. Recently up for sale ($1,800) on SerialKillerCentral.

    Issei Sagawa's semen in a vial. Picture of the murderer holding the vial is presented as authenticity. Recently up for bidding on MurderAuction.com.

    Kenneth Bianchi custom-made door knocker. Recently up for bid on MurderAuction.com.

    Ramon Salcido clown painting on heavy art board. Recently up for bid on Murderauction.com.



Who buys this stuff?
"All kinds of people. Regular people like me mostly. Musicians, artists, actors ... I've heard that Johnny Depp has a couple Gacy paintings ... don't know if it's true or not though."

What are his most distinctive pieces?
Hiles says he paid $200 for a prison-worn shirt belonging to Aileen Wuornos. "I got it from a guard that snuck it out of the prison the night she was executed," he says. "I have one item, from Jeremy Bryan Jones, that I bought from another collector. It's a tracing of his d*ck on a sheet of paper, and he came all over the paper so there's a nasty yellow stain all over it."




Jan 28th 2009 By Howard Altman

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Should Murderbilia Be Legal? Andy Kahan, Victim's Advocate

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Andy Kahan, victim's advocate for the city of Houston
In 1999, Kahan found an article about the sale of art by Arthur Shawcross on eBay and has been tracking murderbilia since. "I figured where there was one there were others." He did a search "and the names came pouring out," he says. As someone who is paid to help the victims of killers, Kahan "was under false delusion that you can't do that." Ah, but they could. And do. And the advent of the Internet has only made it easier, says Kahan.

Isn't profiting from murder illegal?
In 1991, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the "Son of Sam" law that was enacted to prevent killers from profiting from their crimes by selling items, or writing books or movies. The issue, ultimately, was that the law violated the killers' First Amendment rights. Since then, five states -- New York, California, Michigan, New Jersey and Utah -- have passed laws restricting killers not from exercising their First Amendment rights, but from profiting from them, explains Kahan.

Serial Killer Memorabilia

    Charles Manson red and black tarantula from San Quentin Prison, 1986. Recently offered for sale ($950) on Serial Killer Central.

    Copy of the Black Dahlia wanted poster, recently up for bidding on MurderAuction.com.

    John Wayne Gacy original oil painting titled "The Making of Pogo." Recently up for sale ($4,500) on Serial Killer Central.

    Ed Gein signed greeting card with crucifix from Wisconsin Hospital for the Insane. 1983. Recently up for sale ($12,500) on Serial Killer Central.

    Charles Manson and Juan Corona autographed baseball, entitled "You Got It Cold Soul," 1999 Recently up for sale ($2,100) on Serial Killer Central.

    A signed O.J. Simpson USC Trojans jersey. Simpson added the inscription "Heisman '68." Recently up for bid on MurderAuction.com.

    A Charles Manson signed and fingerprinted piece entitled "Hanging Man" including a 13-inch lock of his hair. Includes signed prison documents pertaining to Involuntary Haircut at Corcoran Prison. Recently up for sale ($1,800) on SerialKillerCentral.

    Issei Sagawa's semen in a vial. Picture of the murderer holding the vial is presented as authenticity. Recently up for bidding on MurderAuction.com.

    Kenneth Bianchi custom-made door knocker. Recently up for bid on MurderAuction.com.

    Ramon Salcido clown painting on heavy art board. Recently up for bid on Murderauction.com.




It's legal to sell interstate
Someone selling an item from, say, Florida, can still legally sell them to someone in any other state, he says.

Taking murderbilia to Congress
Kahan helped to push a federal law known as the "Stop the Sale of Murderabilia to Protect the Dignity of Crime Victims Act of 2007" into Congress. Aimed at making it illegal for inmates in state and federal prisons to use the mail to send out items used for profit, S. 1528 was introduced by Senator John Cronyn of Texas but failed to pass. A similar bill introduced to the House of Representatives in 2007, also failed to pass.




Jun 19th 2008 By Howard Altman

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Do Cybersleuths Fight Terrorism or Cause Trouble?

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If you haven't noticed, YouTube features much more troubling fare than old clips of "The Muppet Show" and comedy routines about the history of dance. Jihadi fighters regularly post deaths of U.S. soldiers, assassinations of civilians and other images intended to encourage violence against the West.

In late May, Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn) called for Google to take down these videos that include incendiary speeches by al-Qaida leadership.

"Islamist terrorist organizations use YouTube to disseminate their propaganda, enlist followers, and provide weapons training," the senator wrote in a letter to Google. "YouTube also, unwittingly, permits Islamist terrorist groups to maintain an active, pervasive, and amplified voice."

Responding on the YouTube blog, the editors thanked the senator for alerting them to videos that violated their policies, but stopped short of removing videos that don't have violence or hate speech: "[R}ather than stifle debate we allow our users to view all acceptable content and make up their own minds."

YouTube may be the biggest site where pro-jihadi videos are posted, but it's far from the only one. For more than seven years, a small cadre of civilians, who often agree with Lieberman's stance, have taken it upon themselves to wage war on al-Qaida's hijacking of the information superhighway.

But many in the intelligence community say these amateur detectives -- who spend their time trying to offending sites shut down or go online pretending to be terrorists to capture the real ones -- are doing more to cause trouble than solve crimes.

Jun 6th 2008 By Howard Altman

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How Cybersleuths Operate

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Shortly after 9/11, Glen Jenvey, an unemployed truck driver living near Stonehenge, began pretending to be a Pakistani man who believed in violent jihad. His counterterrorism, which took place in the second-floor study of his stone house, helped lead to the arrest of Abu Hamza al-Masri, one of Europe's most vitriolic clerics.

"You have to hand it to these people," says an Indian military official who spoke on the condition that he only be identified as "the brigadier." Jenvey and other cybersleuths have "done some real work that has had some real results."

Working as a private investigator in Sarasota, Fla., Bill Warner spends part of his day chasing errant spouses and the rest of his time tracking down jihadis.

Playing a game of Internet Whack-a-Mole, Warner has helped take down nine jihadi Web sites in the past six months, including one of the most important, Alhesbah, a principal forum for supporters of al-Qaida.

"I started with the Islamic Thinkers Society site in June of 2005, before it became all private and password protected," recalls Warner. "I downloaded a lot of their information and photos posted of U.S. servicemen being killed or their bodies mutilated after a firefight in Iraq or Afghanistan. I know what is posted on these Web sites; they need to be shut down."

Beyond patriotism, cybersleuths state four main reasons for getting involved in the fight:

-- Disruption of jihadi Web activities
-- Intelligence gathering
-- Amateurs are not bound by the legal restrictions governments are
-- Western governments aren't doing enough

Yet government, military and counterintelligence officials counter that cybersleuths may be doing more harm than good.

Jun 6th 2008 By Howard Altman

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Do Cybersleuths Know Who They're Talking to?

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Everyone knows that you never really know who you are talking to on the Internet.

Cybersleuthing opponents say that's one of several reasons to leave the work to the professionals:

-- Cybersleuths can interfere with government activities.
-- There's potential to do more harm than good.
-- The work can be dangerous. Some cybersleuths report ongoing violent threats.

"I do not believe it is a good idea for an amateur to pose as a jihadist to gain entry into a site such as Alekhlaas," says Paul Henry from SecureComputing.com, which routinely works with government officials investigating jihadis.

"If the site is actively being monitored by a government agency, your action could result in wasted cycles of the agency taking a look at your activities that perhaps could be better spent investigating a real 'bad guy.'"

FBI spokesperson Richard Kolko concurs. "There is inherent danger in conducting undercover operations and extensive training is required. ... Furthermore, for evidence to be used in court, it must be collected in ways that strictly follow the appropriate laws. Those who are not trained in this area may collect information or evidence that would not be admissible in court."

But is the government doing enough to fight the war online?

Jun 6th 2008 By Howard Altman

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The Media Battlefield

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When al-Qaida's No. 2 man Ayman al-Zawahiri wants the world to know about the group's latest terrorist attack, he uses the web as his bullhorn.

A recent Senate report highlighted a letter to the former al-Qaida commander in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, from Ayman al-Zawahiri: "We are in a battle, and more than half of this battle is taking place in the battlefield of the media. And that we are in a media battle in a race for the hearts and minds of our people."

Al-Qaida members go online to recruit jihadis, raise money and train members with a combination of videos and manuals that teach bomb-making, combat techniques and building nuclear and biological weapons.

"The propaganda war is being fought by al-Qaida and its affiliates on the Internet, and the USA hasn't even stepped onto the court," cautions Warner. Pro al-Qaida Web sites are filled with more than anti-U.S., Israel and Christian vitriol. There are beheading videos, images of American vehicles being blown up in Iraq and Afghanistan, calls for the slaughter of U.S. and Israeli citizens and predictions of imminent terror attacks.

Warner's frustration with government "inaction" has inspired him to take the fight into his own hands by tracking Web sites and getting IP providers to shut down online terrorist destinations.

Cybersleuths like Warner have infiltrated well-funded jihadi Web sites and wrought havoc. He says cybersleuths like him are stepping up to a job the government should be doing.

Jun 6th 2008 By Howard Altman

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Does This Cybersleuth Battle Have a Cohesive Plan of Attack?

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A Dallas housewife, who asks that she be identified only as Mrs. Galt, spends her days going online and chatting with, among others, lovelorn jihadis.

A chain-smoking woman with big hair, Galt sits in a wood-paneled den pretending to be a Muslim-American sympathetic to Osama bin Laden. Using rough, software-created Arabic translations, she's gathered a great deal of actionable intelligence, according to the brigadier, that was used by Mumbai in its ongoing battles with Muslims in Kashmir.

Her work has also gotten the attention of powerful forces close to home. One day, the FBI knocked on the door wanting to know why she was online talking about plans for terror attacks. That was the day Mrs. Galt's husband learned what she'd been doing during all that time at the computer.

Former Montana judge Shannen Rossmiller says she has been involved in more than 200 operations as a cybersleuth. On Shannenrossmiller.com, she lists some of her successes:

-- Convincing a man in Pakistan that she was a male, extremist arms-dealer. After he offered her stolen U.S. stinger missiles for the jihad, he was arrested.

-- Acting as a "terrorism banker" in an al-Qaida chat room, Rossmiller met a disgruntled American oil engineer named Michael Curtis Reynolds. The man claimed he was organizing a cell of Asian Muslims to truck-bomb three critical oil-storage hubs in the U.S., including the Alaska Pipeline. In 2006, Reynolds was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

-- Meeting "Amir Abdul Rashid" in an al-Qaida chat room. He revealed himself as an American Muslim convert in Seattle, whose real identity is National Guard Specialist Ryan Anderson. Four months of e-mails snared Anderson, who was offering army battle plans and weapon secrets to al-Qaida. He was arrested and eventually convicted at court martial of trying to assist terrorists.

But do these anecdotal success stories add up to a cohesive plan of attack?

Jun 6th 2008 By Howard Altman

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Struggling to Find the Best Way to Fight Terrorists Online

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Amateur counterterrorists can't agree on whether it's wiser to keep jihad sites up in order to infiltrate them, or take them down to stop dissemination of propaganda.

Warner fights to take down jihadi Web sites. Rossmiller wants sites like Alehklaas.info and Alhesbah.info -- main jihadi conduits for recruiting, training, fund-raising and propaganda -- to stay up so she can gain the trust of real-life jihadis and find out their plans.

Rossmiller (and other like-minded cybersleuths) cite three main goals when pretending to be jihadis:

-- Intelligence gathering: Learning what the jihadis are doing by talking to them.

-- Stings: Rossmiller's online activities have resulted in several arrests, including that of a soldier in Washington State who thought he was selling classified data to al-Qaida.

-- Mis/Disinformation: By posting erroneous information, cybersleuths hope to disrupt jihadi activities and create discord among groups and individuals.

Despite the success of Rossmiller and others, many counterintelligence experts think these sites should be taken down as soon as possible.