Tuesday, December 24, 2013

It has happened again

 A man has been murdered in his home, dead of multiple gunshot wounds. Although it should be, this is not an unusual occurrence.

This is a developing story, and details are being added hourly; this much is known: David Wheelock was a registered sex offender, required to be on the registry in the state of New Hampshire for one incident involving 28 charges of viewing illegal pornography in 2005. He was compliant with his legal requirements. He was found shot to death this past Saturday night, Dec. 21, in his home in Keene, New Hampshire. Mr. Wheelock was wheelchair bound due to multiple sclerosis.

Even though attacks on registered citizens are escalating, with an especially brutal vigilante double murder in South Carolina in June targeting a registrant and his wife, it is yet unknown if this was the motivation behind Mr. Wheelock’s murder.

His registrant status, though, certainly plays a part in media presentation and public reaction. Every article that I could find about his murder identifies him as a registered sex offender although, kudos to New Hampshire, not blaring from the headlines, which is more the norm.

One article notes that the attack was a "vicious" one. Another makes mention of the “dehumanizing effect” that placement on the list creates, and this is certainly borne out by comments on a Facebook page and online comment boards, often by people who have no qualms identifying themselves fully--unless they are using fake names and false photographs. 

Joel Kaplan: “No sympathy. Good riddance.” And “Guilty pervert. Only place left for him is hell.”

Nhstoneybrook: “A dead child molester is a good one.” (There is no indication Wheelock was a child molester; this is part of the negativity of the registry: sex offender = child molester in many people's eyes.)

Jenny Dow Dang: “I hope he died terribly.”

None of these people, nor the others who posted equally vile remarks, knew Mr. Wheelock. They do not know the specifics of his offense and his charges. They do not know whether he was actually guilty, only that he was adjudicated guilty. (28 charges could easily result from a scant handful of images and is an extremely low number for most who collect child porn.) They do not care that there has been no offense since the one arrest. They apparently do not care that he was seriously ill and disabled, confined to a wheelchair, posing no risk to public safety.

All they needed to know to make them feel totally justified in their vileness, viciousness, and hatred is that he was reported to be a registered sex offender.

http://freekeene.com/2013/12/22/investigation-into-homicide-on-pearl-street/



I will be updating when new information is available.

Update 12/25; most interesting: from the office of the New Hampshire Attorney General:
http://doj.nh.gov/media-center/press-releases/2013/20131224-wheelock-autopsy.htm

4 comments:

  1. A wheelchair bound man with M.S unable to defend himself is murdered and all these cold heartless people can do is degrade him with comments of hatred, glorifying his death!? Totally heartless hypocrites that comment in such a way this Christmas eve and then celebrate the birth of Christ tomorrow. Sloan44

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  2. No matter why the man was murdered, it is a terrible story. If the registry made it easier for someone to target him, I hope those who support the registry feel at least a twinge of guilt. If they have any kind of conscience, they will.

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  3. I have to wonder if anyone has considered requiring the posters who say such violent, bloodthirsty things to have a psychiatric examination?? It is quite clear that this man was not convicted of a hands-on offence, why do these commenters mislabel him as a "molester?" If anyone who advocates for fair SO laws were to use words that were as derogatory, abusive, and inflammatory as those I've seen on this, and other blogs, they would be castigated and possibly removed from the Internet. Yet these rude and ignorant, hateful commenters continue to spread their vitriol.

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  4. I am sure many of these cases are covered up and glossed over on the internet.

    I watch the news every morning for hours and had not heard of this story of this crippled registered sex offender being murdered in his wheel chair.

    The internet is extremely prejudice against registered sex offenders.

    Registered sex offenders and their family's are extremely out numbered on the internet because of this prejudice and paranoia.

    People who are prejudice have to be prejudice.

    Sex offenders are a easy target on the internet by cyber bullies that seem addicted to being prejudice.

    I believe that the ostracizing of people like this is not the way of the future and someday all of this will be looked back on as mentally challenged and closed minded.

    The internet today and since it's birth; is not the real world and has never reflected the reality and burden of everyday life for everyday people.

    Freedom of speech is taken from sex offenders by restricting them from the internet and should be illegal world wide.

    Sex offenders and their families that are internet users; have limited free speech because of constant bombardment by prejudice cyber bullies.

    Limiting free speech is not the legacy that made us great. If we continue to take away from our foundation of free speech we will loose it all.

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