John Wayne Gacy: Difference between revisions

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In 1978, after one of Gacy’s victims, Robert Piest, was reported missing, police learned that Gacy was the last person known to have seen him. After obtaining a search warrant, police discovered the bodies of 29 boys and young men in or near Gacy’s house; four other bodies were found in the nearby Des Plaines River. Indeed, the area of the house had emitted a foul stench for years, but Gacy had told his houseguests and his wife that the smell was the result of moisture buildup.

== Trial and execution ==

On February 6, 1980, Gacy's trial began in Chicago. During the trial, he pleaded not guilty, alleging mental problems. However, his testimony was flatly rejected, since mental studies were carried out, giving negative results, that is, he did not have or suffer from mental problems. . His lawyer argued that John had lapses of temporary insanity at the time of each murder, but before and after, he regained his normalcy to attract and dispose of victims. At one point in the trial, Gacy's defense tried to claim that all 33 murders were accidental deaths as part of erotic asphyxiation, but the Cook County Coroner demonstrated with evidence that these claims were impossible. Furthermore, Gacy had already confessed to the police and was unable to suppress such evidence. John Wayne Gacy was found guilty on March 13 and was sentenced to 21 life sentences and 12 death sentences.

In the hours leading up to Gacy's execution, a crowd estimated at more than 1,000 gathered outside the correctional center; most of whom were fervently in favor of execution, although several protesters against the death penalty were also present. Some of the supporters of the execution wore t-shirts that alluded to the previous community services of Gacy as a clown and that carried satirical slogans such as "There are no tears for the clown." Protesters against the death penalty present watched a silent candlelight vigil.

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 In 1978, after one of Gacy’s victims, Robert Piest, was reported missing, police learned that Gacy was the last person known to have seen him. After obtaining a search warrant, police discovered the bodies of 29 boys and young men in or near Gacy’s house; four other bodies were found in the nearby Des Plaines River. Indeed, the area of the house had emitted a foul stench for years, but Gacy had told his houseguests and his wife that the smell was the result of moisture buildup.
+== Trial and execution ==
+On February 6, 1980, Gacy's trial began in Chicago. During the trial, he pleaded not guilty, alleging mental problems. However, his testimony was flatly rejected, since mental studies were carried out, giving negative results, that is, he did not have or suffer from mental problems. . His lawyer argued that John had lapses of temporary insanity at the time of each murder, but before and after, he regained his normalcy to attract and dispose of victims. At one point in the trial, Gacy's defense tried to claim that all 33 murders were accidental deaths as part of erotic asphyxiation, but the Cook County Coroner demonstrated with evidence that these claims were impossible. Furthermore, Gacy had already confessed to the police and was unable to suppress such evidence. John Wayne Gacy was found guilty on March 13 and was sentenced to 21 life sentences and 12 death sentences.
 In the hours leading up to Gacy's execution, a crowd estimated at more than 1,000 gathered outside the correctional center; most of whom were fervently in favor of execution, although several protesters against the death penalty were also present. Some of the supporters of the execution wore t-shirts that alluded to the previous community services of Gacy as a clown and that carried satirical slogans such as "There are no tears for the clown." Protesters against the death penalty present watched a silent candlelight vigil.