Joseph Paul Franklin

Case overview

Joseph Paul Franklin (April 13, 1950 – November 20, 2013) was an American serial killer. He was convicted of several murders, received six life sentences, and was given a death sentence.

He confessed to the attempted murders of two prominent men: magazine publisher Larry Flynt in 1978 and Vernon Jordan, Jr., the civil rights activist, in 1980. Both survived their injuries, but Flynt was left permanently paralyzed from the waist down. Franklin was not convicted in either of those cases. Because Franklin repeatedly changed his accounts of some cases, officials could not determine the full extent of his crimes.

His claims of racial motivation were offset by a defense expert witness who testified in 1997 that Franklin was a paranoid schizophrenic and was not fit to stand trial. Franklin was on death row for 15 years awaiting execution in the state of Missouri for the 1977 murder of Gerald Gordon. Franklin was executed by lethal injection on November 20, 2013.

Timeline

• July 25, 1977 — A trunk load of dynamite was detonated outside the home of Jewish pro-Israel lobbyist Morris Amitay and his family.
• July 29, 1977 — Beth Sholom synagogue in Chattanooga was firebombed.
• October 8, 1977 — Franklin hid behind a telegraph pole at Brith Shalom, a synagogue in Richmond Heights, Missouri, and fired into a group of worshipers, killing Gerald Gordon and injuring two others.
• March 6, 1978 — Franklin claimed he used a .44 caliber rifle to ambush Hustler publisher Larry Flynt and his lawyer Gene Reeves in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
• July 29, 1978 — Franklin hid near a Pizza Hut in Chattanooga and shot and killed Bryant Tatum; he also shot Tatum's white girlfriend, Nancy Hilton, who survived.
• July 12, 1979 — Taco Bell manager Harold McIver was fatally shot through a window from 150 yards in Doraville, Georgia.
• May 29, 1980 — Franklin said he shot and seriously wounded civil rights activist Vernon Jordan, Jr. after seeing him with a white woman in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
• June 8, 1980 — Franklin confessed to killing cousins Darrell Lane (14) and Dante Evans Brown (13) in Cincinnati, Ohio.
• June 25, 1980 — Franklin used a .44 Ruger pistol to kill two hitchhikers, Nancy Santomero (19) and Vicki Durian (26), in Pocahontas County, West Virginia.
• August 20, 1980 — Franklin killed two black men, Ted Fields and David Martin, near Liberty Park in Salt Lake City, Utah.
• February 27, 1997 — Franklin was sentenced to death in Missouri.
• October 2013 — The Missouri State Supreme Court announced that Franklin would be executed later that year on November 20.
• November 17, 2013 — Franklin said in an interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he had renounced his racist views.
• November 20, 2013 — Franklin was executed by lethal injection in Missouri; he was pronounced dead at 6:17 AM CST.

Background

Franklin was born James Clayton Vaughn in Mobile, Alabama, to a poor family. He suffered severe physical abuse as a child.

As early as high school, he became interested in evangelical Christianity, then Nazism, and later held memberships in both the National Socialist White People's Party and the Ku Klux Klan. In the 1960s, Franklin was inspired to try to start a race war after reading Adolf Hitler's political manifesto Mein Kampf. He later reflected: "I've never felt that way about any other book that I read," he would reflect later. "It was something weird about that book."

For much of his life, Franklin was a drifter, roaming up and down the East Coast looking for chances to "cleanse the world" of people he considered inferior, especially blacks and Jews.

He was held on death row at the Potosi Correctional Center near Mineral Point, Missouri.

In an interview published by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Monday, November 17'th 2013, Franklin said he had renounced his racist views. He said his motivation had been "illogical" and was partly a consequence of an abusive upbringing. He said he had interacted with black people in prison, adding: "I saw they were people just like us."

The offence

1977 bombings and synagogue firebombing

On July 25, 1977, a trunk load of dynamite was detonated outside the home of Jewish pro-Israel lobbyist Morris Amitay and his family. The home was severely damaged, but all occupants escaped except for their 6 month old beagle. Franklin confessed to the crime years later while in prison.

On July 29, 1977, Beth Sholom synagogue in Chattanooga was firebombed. Franklin confessed to the crime.

1977 synagogue shooting: Gerald Gordon

On October 8, 1977, Franklin hid in long grass behind a telegraph pole at Brith Shalom, a synagogue in Richmond Heights, Missouri, and fired into a group of worshipers with a hunting rifle. He killed Gerald Gordon and injured two others.

A Missouri appellate decision described preparation and mechanics in detail. In September of 1977, believing that Jews were "enemies of the white race," Franklin drove to Dallas, Texas after robbing a bank in Little Rock, Arkansas. In Dallas, Franklin bought a 30-06 rifle with a telescopic sight. He then drove to St. Louis, Missouri, checked into a hotel, scouted the city for synagogues, and chose Brith Shalom Kneseth Israel Congregation in Richmond Heights. To prepare for the crime, Franklin bought some ten-inch nails, a guitar case and a bicycle. He tested the bicycle to assure himself that is could be used to enable him to leave the scene of the crime. He drove the nails into a telephone pole to serve as a rifle rest. Later, he ground the serial number off the rifle. He then cleaned the rifle, ammunition and guitar case of any fingerprints and, thereafter, he used gloves to handle the equipment. Lastly, he put the rifle into the guitar case and hid them both in some bushes near the synagogue.

On October 8, 1977, Franklin waited outside the synagogue for people to emerge. Shortly before 1:00 p.m., some of the guests left the synagogue and walked toward their cars. Franklin began firing on the guests. He fired five shots from approximately one hundred yards. Gerald Gordon was shot in the left side of his chest and later died from blood loss resulting from damage to his lung, stomach, spleen, and other internal organs. Steven Goldman was grazed on the shoulder. William Ash was wounded in the left hand and later lost his small finger on that hand. Having fired all his ammunition, Franklin abandoned the rifle and the guitar case. He then rode his bicycle to a nearby parking lot where his automobile was parked, hid the bicycle in some bushes and left St. Louis by car.

He was tried, convicted and sentenced to die for Gerald Gordon’s murder. Franklin tried to escape during the judgment of the 1997 Missouri trial on charges of murdering Gerald Gordon, and he was convicted of the murder charge.

1978: attempted killings and later guilty pleas

Franklin claimed that, on March 6, 1978, he used a .44 caliber rifle to ambush Hustler publisher Larry Flynt and his lawyer Gene Reeves in Lawrenceville, Georgia. In his confession, Franklin said this was in retaliation for an edition of Hustler displaying interracial sex. Flynt was shot twice and Reeves once; both survived. Franklin was indicted but never tried. Franklin later admitted to these shootings. Flynt was left permanently paralyzed from the waist down.

On July 29, 1978, Franklin hid near a Pizza Hut in Chattanooga and shot and killed Bryant Tatum, a black man, with a 12-gauge shotgun. He also shot Tatum's white girlfriend, Nancy Hilton, who survived. Franklin confessed and pleaded guilty, being given a life sentence, as well as a sentence for an unrelated armed robbery in 1977.

1979: Doraville killing

On July 12, 1979, Taco Bell manager Harold McIver (27), a black man, was fatally shot through a window from 150 yards (140 m) in Doraville, Georgia. Franklin confessed but was not tried or sentenced for this crime. Franklin said that McIver was in close contact with white women, so he murdered him.

1980: Vernon Jordan and Cincinnati murders

On May 29, 1980, Franklin said he shot and seriously wounded civil rights activist and Urban League president Vernon Jordan, Jr. Franklin initially denied any part in the crime and was acquitted, but later confessed.

On June 8, 1980, Franklin confessed to killing cousins Darrell Lane (14) and Dante Evans Brown (13) in Cincinnati, Ohio. Waiting on an overpass to shoot a racially mixed couple, he shot the boys instead.

Franklin was indicted on April 28 in Hamilton County, Ohio for the pre-meditated murders of Darrell Lane and Dante Evans Brown. A jury convicted him of gunning down 14-year-old Darrell Lane and 13-year-old Dante Evans Brown, and he was sentenced on October 22 to two consecutive life sentences for the 1980 Cincinnati murder of the two black teenagers.

1980: other murders and other confessions

On June 25, 1980, Franklin used a .44 Ruger pistol to kill two hitchhikers, Nancy Santomero (19) and Vicki Durian (26), in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. Franklin confessed to the crime in 1997 to an Ohio assistant prosecutor in the course of investigation in another case; he said he picked up the white girls and decided to kill them after one said she had a black boyfriend. Jacob Beard of Florida was convicted and imprisoned in 1993 on these charges. He was freed in 1999 and a new trial was ordered based on Franklin's confession.

On August 20, 1980, Franklin killed two black men, Ted Fields and David Martin, near Liberty Park in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was tried on federal civil rights charges as well as state first-degree murder charges, and he was convicted and received two life sentences.

Investigation and evidence

Franklin’s detailed confession was recorded during contact with assistant prosecutors.

In the Cincinnati trial, Hamilton County assistant prosecutor Melissa Powers testified about her April 13, 1997 visit with Franklin at the Missouri prison. She described that Franklin quickly agreed to meet with her. She testified that upon entering the room, Franklin told her, "You know I did it," and "I killed those dudes." Powers then played a tape of their conversation. On the tape Franklin said he was trying to kill ugly people and "blacks [are] the ugliest people in the world." Powers concluded her testimony by holding up a photograph of the murder scene. She told jurors that when she showed Franklin the photo, he pointed to where he stood when he fired at the boys.

In the Ohio trial proceedings, co-counsel Dale Schmidt submitted a pre-trial motion to suppress a recording of Franklin's detailed confession to assistant prosecutor Michelle Powers. The judge’s denial of that motion would be the basis of Franklin's appeal.

Trial

Missouri death-penalty case for the 1977 murder of Gerald Gordon

Franklin was held on death row in Missouri for the 1977 murder of Gerald Gordon. During the 1997 Missouri trial, Franklin tried to escape during the judgment of the trial and was convicted of the murder charge. The psychiatrist Dorothy Otnow Lewis, who had interviewed him at length, testified for the defense that she believed that he was a paranoid schizophrenic and unfit to stand trial. She noted his delusional thinking and a childhood history of severe abuse.

The defense expert testimony said Franklin was a paranoid schizophrenic and not fit to stand trial. Franklin’s death sentence resulted in execution after further procedural activity in federal court.

Ohio conviction for the 1980 Cincinnati murders

Franklin was indicted on April 28 in Hamilton County, Ohio for the pre-meditated murders of 14-year-old Darrell Lane and 13-year-old Dante Evans Brown. Franklin represented himself with co-counsel Dale Schmidt. The defense called no witnesses, made no opening statement, and provided no closing argument.

In the trial, lead prosecutor Joseph Deters told jury members that even without Franklin’s confession, the evidence of guilt was "overwhelming." Deters said that Franklin had confessed to "the exact same type of murder," to other authorities in other venues, and that local police placed Franklin in Cincinnati at the time of the murder. Deters said, "Without his confession to Melissa Powers, he is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," and "guilty beyond all doubt." Deters also acknowledged that jurors might wonder why prosecutors brought this case because Franklin was already on death row in Missouri and was serving six life sentences for other crimes. Deters said the prosecution had to consider "how the community feels." He told the jury: "18 years means nothing," and "Justice for these two boys, for his family, for his community, that's what matters."

Witness testimony included emotional testimony from Linda Lane, Darrell’s older sister. Priscilla Richardson, a passing motorist, told the jury about hearing Dante Evans cry out, "help me, please help me," and about going to get the police. Police officers described the crime scene and the investigation. Jim Riley testified that Franklin was almost caught in 1980 after being questioned in another case and escaping through an open window, leaving behind a driver’s license and finger prints. Susan Roudebush testified that she stepped forward after seeing Franklin’s driver’s license photograph in a Cincinnati paper and that she had recently bought a guitar and a distortion unit from Franklin, and that Franklin tried to sell her a rifle. Officer Clarence Caesar testified that fingerprints on the distortion unit and an included instruction booklet matched Franklin.

The jury visited the crime scene before trial. Jurors visited the motel parking lot where the cousins walked through to reach Reading Road, saw the railroad trestle, and viewed the spot on the trestle where Franklin allegedly stood and fired. They were also shown the spot where Lane and Brown went down.

Franklin was convicted and sentenced in Ohio. On October 22, 1999, Judge Ralph Winkler sentenced Franklin to two consecutive life sentences for the 1980 Cincinnati murders. On October 21, 1999, the jury convicted Franklin of gunning down Darrell Lane and Dante Evans Brown. Immediately after sentencing, Franklin said: "You might as well--all the other judges have." Winkler responded by describing Franklin’s behavior and attitude in court, including references to his outbursts and that Franklin had accused county deputies of preying on him and making homosexual advances. In response to one outburst, Winkler said: "I'm looking at the face of evil. You're basically a Hannibal Lecter, but with a rifle." Winkler also disagreed with Franklin’s assessment that he should get credit for confessing to the killings. Franklin said: "I helped these people [the prosecution] out...I didn't have to do it."

Sentencing

Missouri death sentence

Franklin was sentenced to death in Missouri on February 27, 1997. He was executed by lethal injection in Missouri on November 20, 2013.

The Missouri State Supreme Court announced in October 2013 that Franklin would be executed later that year on November 20. The Missouri Attorney General, Chris Koster, said in a statement that by setting execution dates, the state high court "has taken an important step to see that justice is finally done for the victims and their families".

In October 2013, Flynt called for clemency for Franklin asserting "that a government that forbids killing among its citizens should not be in the business of killing people itself."

Additional life sentences in other cases

Franklin received six life sentences in total in addition to the death sentence in Missouri. He received two life sentences for the Ohio Cincinnati murders after his October 1999 conviction and sentencing.

He received two life sentences in federal and state proceedings for the Salt Lake City killings of Ted Fields and David Martin.

In Chattanooga, Franklin pleaded guilty and was given a life sentence for the murder of Bryant Tatum, along with a sentence for an unrelated armed robbery in 1977.

In the Ohio proceedings, Judge Ralph Winkler also described Franklin as taunting the judge and noted victim impact statements submitted by Lane’s sister and Brown’s mother, which Winkler called "heart wrenching."

Appeals and stays

Franklin tried to escape during the judgment of the 1997 Missouri trial on charges of murdering Gerald Gordon. The psychiatrist Dorothy Otnow Lewis testified that Franklin was paranoid schizophrenic and unfit to stand trial.

On November 20, 2013, Franklin’s execution was complicated by objections from European drug manufacturers and disputes about the lethal injection method. Missouri announced it would use a new method of lethal injection using a single drug provided by an unnamed compounding pharmacy.

A day before his execution, U.S. District Judge Nanette Laughrey (Jefferson City) granted a stay of execution over concerns raised about the new method. A second stay was granted that evening by U.S. District Judge Carol E. Jackson (St. Louis), based on Franklin’s claim that he is mentally incompetent to be executed.

Both stays were quickly overturned by an appeals court, and the Supreme Court subsequently rejected final appeals.

A spokesman for the Missouri Department of Corrections, Mike O'Connell, said Franklin was pronounced dead at 6:17 a.m.

Franklin declined to make a final statement during the execution process.

Execution

Franklin was executed at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre, Missouri on November 20, 2013.

The execution began at 6:07 AM CST and Franklin was pronounced dead at 6:17 AM CST. His execution was the first lethal injection in Missouri to use pentobarbital alone instead of the conventional three drug cocktail. An Associated Press news agency journalist said that Franklin swallowed hard as 5g of pentobarbital were administered. It took him 10 minutes to be pronounced dead.

Representation in other media

William L. Pierce wrote a novel, Hunter (1989), published under the pseudonym Andrew MacDonald. Pierce, founder of the National Alliance dedicated the book to Joseph Paul Franklin.

Other details

Confessions and disputed scope of crimes

Franklin confessed to many crimes, including bombings, synagogue attacks, and sniper shootings.

Franklin insisted in interviews that he no longer hated blacks or Jews and said: "and I saw they were people just like us." He also denied repeated interview requests from The Associated Press.

Franklin’s lawyer, Jennifer Herndon, said his reasoning exemplified his mental illness: he told her the digits of the AP's St. Louis office phone number added up to what he called an "unlucky number," so he refused to call it.

Additional counts and figures in the provided material

Investigators believed Franklin was responsible for at least 18 murders and five nonfatal shootings in 11 states, plus two bombings and 16 bank robberies.

A chronology portion described total numbers: Total number of murders Franklin had been charged with or admitted to date (June 98): 20; total number of seriously wounded Franklin had admitted to or been indicted for to date (June 98): 6; total number of bank robberies Franklin had admitted to or been indicted for to date (June 98): 16; total number of bombings Franklin had been indicted for or admitted to date (June 98): 2.

Additional individuals and victims mentioned in the provided material

• Morris Amitay (home target; Jewish pro-Israel lobbyist)
• Morris Amitay’s family and their 6 month old beagle
• Beth Sholom synagogue congregation (Chattanooga)
• Gerald Gordon (killed at Brith Shalom; died from blood loss)
• Steven Goldman (grazed on the shoulder at Brith Shalom)
• William Ash (wounded in left hand; lost his small finger on that hand)
• Larry Flynt (shot twice; survived; paralyzed from waist down)
• Gene Reaves (shot once; survived)
• Bryant Tatum (killed)
• Nancy Hilton (shot; survived)
• Harold McIver (27; fatally shot)
• Vernon Jordan, Jr. (seriously wounded; acquitted in connection with the charge described)
• Darrell Lane (14; killed)
• Dante Evans Brown (13; killed; mortally injured; in testimony cried out)
• Nancy Santomero (19; killed)
• Vicki Durian (26; killed)
• Ted Fields (killed)
• David Martin (killed)
• Bryant Tatum’s white girlfriend, Nancy Hilton (survived)
• Jacob Beard of Florida (convicted and imprisoned in 1993; freed in 1999; new trial ordered based on Franklin’s confession)
• Jacob Beard was described as being charged with and convicted for the Pocahontas County killings in the provided material