TX - Beloved college prof revealed as killer of family in 1967

[Sonya610]

. . . that we know of.

Yuppers, he is a lot smarter now than he was at 15.

 

[wfgodot]

More "talking points" (ew, hate that phrase):

1. Should this article, the original one in the Georgetown Advocate, even have been written? Was it not an intrusion into a person's life he spent years rebuilding? What good has the article done? Was its purpose more to titillate than to inform?

2. Was the psychiatrist at Rusk's decision to let the teenager move into his home really such a bad one? At Rusk at the time there was also a patient called Roky Erickson - lead singer for the great TX '60s psych band the 13th Floor Elevators - who had faced a ten-year sentence for a single joint of pot but opted for treatment. At Rusk he was subject to ECT and other intrusive therapies - massive doses of Thorazine etc. He left the place more insane than he ever was when he entered it.

As ever, I can go either way on a lot of this stuff. I too have doubts about whether young Wolcott was really insane. Glue-sniffng induces temporary psychosis which might mimic paranoid schizophrenia but is not permanent unless the effects are experienced over time. Other factors were undoubtedly left out of the trial because the three persons who could have testified to them were dead at the hands of their brother and their son, silenced, with no real voice in his punishment. (C'est la mort, c'est la vie.)

 

[rosesfromangels]

I seriously doubt he is, or ever was, mentally ill. JMHO[/QUOTE

Curious. Why? Just evil?

 

[MsFacetious]

Whole thing makes me a bit edgy too, but, just to play the devil's advocate, I will say that a jury, in Texas (and an all-male one at that), found him to have been insane.

Thereafter, he was sent to Rusk, where he spent six years, held till he was over 21, and released after having been found sane. He has been teaching at Millikin since 1986 - 27 years.

He fulfilled the terms of his sentence.

(The fly in this ointment is that he probably did not disclose past events when applying for the job; that alone could get him booted. But after 27 years of apparently effective teaching? Good arguments exist on either side.)

However, was he LEGALLY required to disclose those events?
He was 16 at the time and he was found NOT GUILTY by reason of insanity.
I am not at all convinced that there was any obligation for him to ever tell anyone about his past.

If you are convicted of a felony as an adult, you have to disclose that in some situations.
In some places they only want to know if you were convicted in that state. This wasn't the same state.

Is there a law that requires you to disclose you were found NOT guilty of a crime in another state? :twocents:

 

[Trident]

. . . that we know of.

Ya took the words right outta my fingers.

 

[Cappuccino]

I am well in the minority here but i think this is a case of kid makes good. He was insane or temporarily insane (and neither of them have to be lifelong conditions), was released after therapy and meds and has lived a good life helping students ever since.

This. ^

He hasn't reoffended since 1967, and he's been free since 1974. And for those saying, "not that we know of..." you could say that about anybody. For all I know any one of you here could be hiding bodies in your cellar, and for all you know I could be.

Its innocent till proven guilty, not the other way around.

 

[oh_gal]

I have often heard that some who go into the field of psychology do so because they, themselves, are suffering from some type of mental illness, and it is this mental illness, and the desire to learn more about it, or heal themselves, that drives them.

I have a sister in law who suffers from bi-polar disorder among other things, who is studying in this field, so I can believe it. Kind of the "physician, heal thyself" mentality.

 

[meanmaryjean]

I seriously doubt he is, or ever was, mentally ill. JMHO[/QUOTE

Curious. Why? Just evil?

Because schizophrenia doesn't just 'go away'. And because from what I'm reading he planned the attack on his family for a month, bolstered his courage with huffing THEN killed them. This speaks evil to me, not illness.

And as an aside. from 1976-1979, I worked as a nurse in an inpatient, locked-up, acute care psychiatric ward. So I know a little something about schizophrenia, up-close-and-personal.

The fact that, from the media reports, the psychiatric hospital ADMINISTRATOR 'declared' him sane is also troubling to me.

 

[rosesfromangels]

Because schizophrenia doesn't just 'go away'. And because from what I'm reading he planned the attack on his family for a month, bolstered his courage with huffing THEN killed them. This speaks evil to me, not illness.

And as an aside. from 1976-1979, I worked as a nurse in an inpatient, locked-up, acute care psychiatric ward. So I know a little something about schizophrenia, up-close-and-personal.

The fact that, from the media reports, the psychiatric hospital ADMINISTRATOR 'declared' him sane is also troubling to me.

Thanks.
Yes, the way the whole case was handled and his subsequent release seems quite irregular. From the outside, and without knowing all the facts, it seems he played the system and his captors brilliantly.

 

[wfgodot]

If you believe that a person can recover from mental illness — an outcome we all hope for — then it makes utterly no sense to call for the resignation of Millikin University professor James St. James, though horrifically he killed his family when he was 15 years old.

That’s not how the mayor sees it in Downstate Decatur, where Millikin is situated. Mayor Mike McElroy told the Sun-Times “the right thing” would be for St. James, an associate professor of psychology, to step down for the good of the university now that James’ past has become known.
---

more at the link: Millikin should stand behind Professor St. James (Chicago Sun-Times)

 

[gxm]

How can you compare them? This guy hasn't put a step wrong since he was released.

That we know about. Maybe he just got better at not getting caught.

JMO. OMO. MOO.

 

[rabidstoat]

Because schizophrenia doesn't just 'go away'.

Maybe he's been on medication and in therapy all these years, though. The article doesn't say, but I don't think it'd be allowed to because of HIPAA laws.

I guess the quandary this whole issue brings to mind for me is: when do we declare that we don't think someone can be rehabilitated, and what do we do about it? It doesn't seem quite right to me to say that everyone who murdered someone is beyond redemption. There could be medical issues (mental or otherwise) that could be brought under control, through drugs or therapy or whatever, or it could be some drug-induced rage that is extremely unlikely to be repeated after 5 or 10 years of no incidents. It seems like if society as a whole is unwilling to believe someone who committed crimes like this can be rehabilitated, then there should be more life sentences. I don't know, it's a tough one for me.

That said, knowing what I know now I would be uneasy taking a long business trip in a car alone with him, say, or going over to house for dinner.

IMHO.

 

[Tugela]

Because schizophrenia doesn't just 'go away'. And because from what I'm reading he planned the attack on his family for a month, bolstered his courage with huffing THEN killed them. This speaks evil to me, not illness.

And as an aside. from 1976-1979, I worked as a nurse in an inpatient, locked-up, acute care psychiatric ward. So I know a little something about schizophrenia, up-close-and-personal.

The fact that, from the media reports, the psychiatric hospital ADMINISTRATOR 'declared' him sane is also troubling to me.

What makes you think he had schizophrenia? From the description it sound more like autism combined with drug abuse resulting in paranoia that lead the events of his teens.

Autism doesn't just "go away" either, but generally most people with it become more able to cope once they pass their teens/early twenties.

 

[jjenny]

What makes you think he had schizophrenia? From the description it sound more like autism combined with drug abuse resulting in paranoia that lead the events of his teens.

Autism doesn't just "go away" either, but generally most people with it become more able to cope once they pass their teens/early twenties.

Schizophrenia is what he was diagnosed with after the murders.

 

[cityslick]

Maybe he's been on medication and in therapy all these years, though. The article doesn't say, but I don't think it'd be allowed to because of HIPAA laws.

I guess the quandary this whole issue brings to mind for me is: when do we declare that we don't think someone can be rehabilitated, and what do we do about it? It doesn't seem quite right to me to say that everyone who murdered someone is beyond redemption. There could be medical issues (mental or otherwise) that could be brought under control, through drugs or therapy or whatever, or it could be some drug-induced rage that is extremely unlikely to be repeated after 5 or 10 years of no incidents. It seems like if society as a whole is unwilling to believe someone who committed crimes like this can be rehabilitated, then there should be more life sentences. I don't know, it's a tough one for me.

That said, knowing what I know now I would be uneasy taking a long business trip in a car alone with him, say, or going over to house for dinner.

IMHO.

Redemption is based on the individual doing the redeeming and it's not going to be the same for everyone. How much you think a person can overcome an act such as taking another life involves a number of variables. How the life was taken, circumstances that surrounded the event, spiritual and moral beliefs, etc.

I think certain people can be rehabilitated. I don't know enough about this person to say yes or no.

 

[rosesfromangels]

What makes you think he had schizophrenia? From the description it sound more like autism combined with drug abuse resulting in paranoia that lead the events of his teens.

Autism doesn't just "go away" either, but generally most people with it become more able to cope once they pass their teens/early twenties.

I must have goofed up the quote brackets when I replied to the original poster, who actually stated that, not me. I do not have a medical background and am not qualified to speculate on his psychological status.

I will say, however, that as a general rule of thumb, I don't believe anyone who murdered their family (at any age) is a good candidate to be re-entered in to mainstream society.

 

[SilkySifaka]

I must have goofed up the quote brackets when I replied to the original poster, who actually stated that, not me. I do not have a medical background and am not qualified to speculate on his psychological status.

I will say, however, that as a general rule of thumb, I don't believe anyone who murdered their family (at any age) is a good candidate to be re-entered in to mainstream society.

Well this guy clearly was a good candidate and it is no surprise to me. Teenagers are not fully developed and can do some horrible things but become different people with care and therapy and the maturation process. I should still be in jail if i had been caught for the many awful things I did as a wild teen. Now I live with my cats quietly and was straightened up by 20

 

[Tulessa]

How can you compare them? This guy hasn't put a step wrong since he was released.

And we know this how? I'm sorry, but I don't EVEN want to be in the same state as him! NO one knows what he does on his on time? OR! If he's re offended!

 

[wfgodot]

Millikin University students stand by James St. James. (ksdk.com, with video)

 

[Tulessa]

Millikin University students stand by James St. James. (ksdk.com, with video)

Good for him! I hope he stands alone! If I had murdered my parents? I would look over my back the rest of my life, because you could bank my siblings would do a little hunting of their own. AS THEY SHOULD!!!