Gary Ridgeway has pleaded guilty to killing at least 48 women. He is now the most prolific serial killer in US history.
Part of his statement:
He has received a punishment of 48 counts of life without parole and a fine of $480,000 - $10K for each of his victims.
Keeping him incarcerated will cost US taxpayers around $40,000 - $50,000 a year.
Does he deserve to live?
Part of his statement:
"I killed so many women I have a hard time keeping them straight.
I killed most of them in my house near Military Road, and I killed a lot of them in my truck, not far from where I picked them up. I killed some of them outside. I remember leaving each woman's body in the place where she was found.
I agree that each of the murders I committed was part of a "common scheme or plan." The plan was: I wanted to kill as many women I thought were prostitutes as I possibly could.
I picked prostitutes as my victims because I hate most prostitutes and I did not want to pay them for sex. I also picked prostitutes as victims because they were easy to pick up without being noticed. I knew they would not be reported missing right away, and might never be reported missing. I picked prostitutes because I thought I could kill as many of them as I wanted without getting caught.
Another part of my plan was where I put the bodies of these women. Most of the time I took the women's jewelry and their clothes to get rid of any evidence and make them harder to identify. I placed most of the bodies in groups, which I call "clusters." I did this because I wanted to keep track of all the women I killed. I liked to drive by the "clusters" around the county and think about the women I placed there. I usually used a landmark to remember a "cluster" and the women I placed there. Sometimes I killed and dumped a woman, intending to start a new "cluster," and never returned because I thought I might get caught putting more women there.
He has received a punishment of 48 counts of life without parole and a fine of $480,000 - $10K for each of his victims.
Keeping him incarcerated will cost US taxpayers around $40,000 - $50,000 a year.
Does he deserve to live?
