In February 1992, Dr. Park Dietz spent several hours testifying that Jeffrey Dahmer was not legally insane when he murdered 151 young men in the state of Wisconsin. Nor was he legally insane when he committed acts of necrophilia, cannibalism and dismemberment upon their bodies. Or when he attempted to create ‘sex zombies’ by way of applying muriatic acid to living brains.
Dietz (a forensic psychiatrist who had previously consulted for the FBI and testified in other high-profile cases) argued that although Dahmer was sexually deviant, he wasn’t out of control. Numerous instances where Dahmer had premeditated murders, taken steps to hide evidence, resisted killing in front of witnesses – and even protected himself against disease by wearing a condom while defiling corpses – were provided by the doctor as proof of Dahmer’s ability to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct and circumstantially tailor his behaviour.
A jury verdict of 10-2 echoed Dietz’s assessment and Dahmer was sentenced to 15 consecutive life terms. Making him eligible for parole sometime in the year 2934.
In response to the high number of requests he recieved from the media, researchers and those who were just eager to hear more from him, Dr. Dietz prepared a statement following the verdict and had it sent to his inquirers.
Obtained from a source who reached out to Dietz personally in ’92, it appears this full statement has never been published online in its entirety prior to now.
STATEMENT OF PARK DIETZ, M.D., IN REACTION TO DAHMER VERDICT
2/15/92; Newport Beach, California
“A serial killer’s personality does not involve deep secrets. It’s the coincidence of two problems… Character [and] perversion.”
The jury finding that Mr. Dahmer was sane– the often misleading legal term for a finding that he was responsible for his crimes– is important for the families of the men he killed and for the city of Milwaukee to whom he brought such shame. But the verdict is also important as a message to countless other men who long to commit sexual crimes.
If the jury had found Mr. Dahmer insane, it would have been open season for sex offenders, because the core of the defense theory of the case was that sexually deviated (“paraphilic”) men cannot control their behavior. Experts on both sides of the case diagnosed Mr. Dahmer as suffering paraphilias, including necrophilia, that are precisely analogous to the disorders found among most child molesters, serial rapists, and serial killers, as well as many of those committing sex offenses.
Defense experts testified to their opinions that a paraphilia is a mental disease and that in this case it caused Mr. Dahmer to lack substantial capacity to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law when killing to obtain corpses for sexual use. I testified to my opinion that a paraphilia did not meet the requirements of Wisconsin law for a mental disease because a sexual interest, however unusual, does not substantially affect mental or emotional processes; it merely determines what fantasies, mental images, or actions are sexually arousing. More importantly, a paraphilic interest does not in itself cause one to behave criminally, for paraphiles do not necessarily commit crimes to fulfill their sexual desires. Mr. Dahmer, like countless other men with unusual sexual desires, was able to gratify himself without committing crimes, and often did so.
One message for those who long to perform harmful and antisocial sexual acts is clear: society is not prepared to excuse you, however bizarre your actions. Another message, however, remains unspoken: if you long for such actions, it is your responsibility to seek treatment, to avoid situations that tempt you, and to find lawful ways of satisfying your urges until– through treatment– you change the direction or intensity of those urges.
With respect to Mr. Dahmer, I only hope that the trial served to clarify that his crimes were not motivated by racial prejudice or homophobia. His attraction to particular aspects of masculine physique drew him to men of all races, both in his crimes and in his consenting encounters. I think the jury judged him fairly, but it remains to be seen whether his fellow inmates will judge him as fairly as the criminal justice system so many of them mock and distrust.
Dr. Dietz’s official statement from February 15th, 1992 – the day Dahmer was deemed sane under Wisconsin law
A huge thank you to Steve Giannangelo for this great piece of true crime history
Steve further discusses this statement and Dr. Dietz’s take on insanity in his new book: Irresistible Impulses: Defending the Insanity of Serial Murder
The book also features new and exclusive interviews with lawyer Wendy Patrickus and psychiatrist Dr. Fred Berlin – both of Dahmer’s defence team!
Sources:
- FBI files
- Cornell
Footnote:
- Dahmer killed 17 men in total, but was not tried for the murder of 25-year-old Steven Tuomi due to lack of evidence. For the death of his first victim, 18-year-old Steven Hicks, Dahmer was tried in Bath, Ohio – where the murder had taken place over 10 years prior. Dahmer did not attempt to plead insanity for Hicks’ murder ↩︎
Awesome
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