Misplaced Pages

Luke Woodham

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Cometstyles (talk | contribs) at 01:13, 21 December 2008 (rm double). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Revision as of 01:13, 21 December 2008 by Cometstyles (talk | contribs) (rm double)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Luke Woodham
File:LukeWoodham.jpg
StatusIncarcerated
OccupationUnemployed
Criminal chargeMurder, attempted murder
PenaltyThree consecutive life sentences and an additional 120 years

Luke Woodham (born February 5, 1981) is a convicted American murderer, and a former resident of Pearl, Mississippi, United States. He instigated a school shooting at Pearl High School on October 1, 1997, which left three people dead, including his own mother, and seven injured. He is currently serving three life sentences with an additional 120 years.

Murder of Mother

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.

October 1: Shooting at Pearl High School

Woodham drove his mother's car to his high school. Wearing a long trenchcoat, 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". Minutes before he started the shooting, he gave the following message to a friend:

"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."

Satanism

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.

Trivia

This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. Please relocate any relevant information into other sections or articles. (April 2008)

The short play series "Above the Fold" by Topher Payne includes a play entitled "The Day Luke Woodham Killed All Those People". It was based on interviews the playwright conducted with Woodham's former co-workers at a local pizza parlor. The play was first produced by Process Theatre Company in Atlanta, Georgia in 2008.

References

  1. http://www.cnn.com/US/9710/02/miss.shooting.folo/
  2. Woodham Trial Archives
  3. Virginia Tech: Is the Scene of the Crime the Cause of the Crime?, 20-04-2007. Ames, Mark. AlterNet.
  4. CNN - Woodham testifies he was involved in satanism - June 11, 1998

External links

Categories: