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#REDIRECT ] |
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{{Infobox Criminal |
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| image_name = LukeWoodham.jpg |
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| subject_name = Luke Woodham |
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| image_size = 200px |
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| image_caption = |
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| date_of_birth = {{birth date and age|1981|02|05}} |
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| place_of_birth = |
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| date_of_death = |
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| place_of_death = |
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| charge = ], ] |
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| penalty = Three consecutive ]s and an additional 120 years |
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| status = Incarcerated |
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| occupation = Unemployed |
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| spouse = |
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'''Luke Woodham''' (born February 5, 1981) is a convicted ] ], and a former resident of ], ], ]. He instigated a ] at ] on October 1, 1997, which left three people dead, including his own mother, and seven injured. He is currently serving three ]s with an additional 120 years. |
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{{Rcat shell| |
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==Murder of Mother== |
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{{R with history}} |
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On October 1, 1997 Woodham, then 16, beat and stabbed his mother, Mary Woodham, to death. At his trial he said he could not remember killing his mother. The shooting rampage at the school was stopped when an assistant principal used a legally licensed handgun to hold Woodham at bay until police arrived. |
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{{R from person}} |
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{{R printworthy}} |
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==October 1: Shooting at Pearl High School== |
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Woodham drove his mother's car to his high school. Wearing a long trenchcoat,<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.cnn.com/US/9710/02/miss.shooting.folo/ | title = Teen pleads innocent in high school shooting | publisher = ] | date = October 2, 1997 }}</ref> he made no attempt to hide his rifle. When he entered the school, he walked toward Lydia Dew and shot Dew and Christina Menefee, his former girlfriend. Both girls died. Pearl High School Band director, Jeff Cannon, was standing 5 feet from Dew when she was fatally shot. He went on to wound 7 others before Joel Myrick, the assistant principal, retrieved a .45 pistol from the glove compartment of his truck and subdued Woodham while he was trying to drive off campus. The outraged educator demanded "Why did you shoot my kids?". Woodham replied "Life has wronged me, sir".<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.courttv.com/archive/trials/woodham/ | title = Mississippi v. Luke Woodham | publisher = ] Online }}</ref> |
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Minutes before he started the shooting, he gave the following message to a friend<ref>{{cite web | last = Ames | first = Mark | url = http://www.alternet.org/story/50758/?page=entire | title = Virginia Tech: Is the Scene of the Crime the Cause of the Crime? | publisher = AlterNet | date = April 20, 2007 }}</ref>: |
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<blockquote>"I am not insane, I am angry. I killed because people like me are mistreated every day. I did this to show society, push us and we will push back. ... All throughout my life, I was ridiculed, always beaten, always hated. Can you, society, truly blame me for what I do? Yes, you will. ... It was not a cry for attention, it was not a cry for help. It was a scream in sheer agony saying that if you can't pry your eyes open, if I can't do it through pacifism, if I can't show you through the displaying of intelligence, then I will do it with a bullet."</blockquote> |
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==Satanism== |
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During the trial, Woodham admitted to being a Satanist, and that he got the idea to commit the murders after his involvement in Satanism. According to Woodham, his friend Grant Boyette invited Woodham to join his Satanic group, known as "the Kroth." He told Woodham that he had "the potential to do something great." Boyette promised that he could either get his ex-girlfriend back or get even through black magic Woodham said.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.cnn.com/US/9806/11/school.shooting.03/index.html | title = Woodham testifies he was involved in satanism | publisher = ] | date = June 11, 1998 }}</ref> |
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==Verdict== |
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Woodham was found guilty on June 12, 1998, of "two counts of murder and seven counts of aggravated assault". |
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He was immediately sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for the murder convictions and seven 20-year sentences for the aggravated assault convictions. |
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<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.cnn.com/US/9806/12/school.shooting.verdict/ | title = Teen guilty in Mississippi school-shooting rampage | publisher = ] | date = June 12, 1998 }}</ref> |
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==Play based on Woodham== |
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The short play series "Above the Fold" by ] includes a play entitled "The Day Luke Woodham Killed All Those People". |
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It was based on interviews the playwright conducted with Woodham's former co-workers at a local pizza parlor. |
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The play was first produced by Process Theatre Company in Atlanta, Georgia in 2008. |
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==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
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==External links== |
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* {{cite web | url = http://www.courttv.com/archive/trials/woodham/ | title = Mississippi v. Luke Woodham | publisher = ] Online }} |
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** {{cite web | url = http://www.courttv.com/archive/trials/woodham/061298.html | title = Woodham Updates (Final conviction) | publisher = ] Online }} |
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* {{cite web | url = http://www.mdoc.state.ms.us/InmateDetails.asp?PassedId=R4682 | publisher = Mississippi Department of Corrections | title = Luke Woodham }} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodham, Luke}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodham, Luke}} |
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