Editing Byron Looper (section)

==Biography==
Looper was born in Cookeville, Tennessee, in 1964. He attended the West Point military academy but was discharged for a knee injury and began working for the state legislature. He joined the Democratic Party and attempted to run in the 1988 Representative election but lost the primary to Wyc Orr. He switched to the Republican party in 1992.

In 1996 Looper ran for the position of Putnam County tax assessor, changing his middle name to (Low Tax) in order to raise his public profile. He successfully won the position, but soon became known for his incompetence; he rarely showed up for work, tax assessments during his tenure contained many irregularities and he spent most of his time making press releases designed to make him look good. An investigation into the irregularities in his tax assessments found that Looper had, among other things, increased tax burdens on people who refused to contribute to his campaign fund and embezzled tax money for political purposes. An indictment was filed against Looper in October 1998, and he was removed from office by an ouster suit. He was also sued by a former girlfriend who alleged that he had raped her and forced her to carry a resulting pregnancy to term.

In August 1998, Looper ran for the Tennessee State Senate against Democratic incumbent Tommy Burks. During the election, on 19 October 1998, Burks was found dead on his family farm after being shot in the head. Farmhand Wesley Rex reported he had seen a black car leaving the farm shortly before Burks's body was discovered, driven by a man wearing sunglasses and black gloves. He saw a picture of Byron Looper on the news and identified him as the man driving the car. Looper was found and arrested in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and extradited back to Tennessee. A friend he had been staying with, Joe Bond, told police that Looper had confessed to him that he shot Burks. Despite his arrest, Looper almost won the election due to a legal loophole, but was prevented when Tommy Burks's widow ran in her husband's place.

Looper's trial began in 2000, having been delayed for two years because Looper kept firing and replacing his lawyers. At trial, state experts testified that tyre tracks at the murder scene came from Looper's Audi. The prosecution attempted to call to the stand a former campaign secretary who claimed Looper had suggested murdering opponents in a previous election but the testimony was ruled inadmissible because it happened years before the murder. Looper called a witness who had previously owned the murder weapon and claimed to have sold it two months before and never given it to Looper, but under cross-examination he admitted that he was unsure if he was right. He also attempted to introduce potential alibi evidence, but the witnesses were ruled inadmissible because under Tennessee law alibi evidence must be registered before the trial begins, and the prosecution noted that they hadn't come forward until after the trial began and were all members of Looper's family. An expert witness testified that he did not believe the tracks came from Looper's car, but admitted that he had not actually examined the car when pressed.

In August 2000 Looper was convicted and sentenced to life without parole (the Burks family had requested the death penalty not be sought). He filed a motion for a new trial on the basis of his alibi evidence, but it was rejected to the aforementioned legal issues. 

On 26 June 2013 Looper, high on antidepressants, attacked a pregnant female counsellor and had to be restrained. Two hours later he was found dead in his cell due to overdosing on antidepressants.
[[Category:List]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Modern Villains]]
[[Category:Deceased]]
[[Category:Murderer]]
[[Category:Imprisoned]]
[[Category:United States of America]]
[[Category:Political]]
[[Category:Rapists]]
[[Category:Corrupt Officials]]
[[Category:Democratic Party villains]]
[[Category:Republican Party villains]]
[[Category:Deaths in prison]]
[[Category:Addicts]]
[[Category:Embezzlers]]
[[Category:Thief]]