Spengler Lures and Kills Firemen

By now I'm sure that most of you have heard about William H. Spengler Jr. and what he did. If you haven't then first and foremost I should probably share his background with you.

In 1980 he was arrested and by 1981 he was convicted of murder. This upstanding citizen beat his 91-year-old grandmother to death with a hammer. What could possess a man to make him do such a thing? In my opinion the only reasonable answer would be pure evil. Now if the crime he committed isn't horrific enough wait until you find out about his punishment.

In 1998 the parole board decided that it would be safe to release Spengler from prison and allow him to return to society. 18 years is a very long time to be incarcerated but is it justice? Is it enough to allow a man that took a life, return to his? His grandmother Rose Spengler will never be able to return to her life so why should her killer be allowed to return to his? If you take a life you should lose yours, plain and simple.

I don't care if he found God and started a church while he was in prison. It is still not enough to allow him back into society. This man is the definition of a cold-blooded killer. He repeatedly beat his own grandmother, a 91-year-old defenseless woman, to death with a hammer. How could we ever believe that it would be safe to let him walk amongst us? It is completely unacceptable. I hope that the members of the parole board that released him feel as guilty and responsible as they should.

14 years after his release he committed another sick act. He started a fire at his home and dialed 911. He stayed and waited for firefighters to come to the scene. Then upon their arrival he shot at the men that were coming to help him. If this isn't premeditated murder, I don't know what is. Two of these firefighters were killed while two others were wounded.

My heart goes out to the families of these men that lost their lives while trying to help others. The very man they came to help is the same man that took their lives. I also feel for Spengler’s family because he also killed his sister who was found in his home after the shooting.

After exchanging gunfire with police he did what every other cowardly man does in these situations. He turned his gun on himself and took his own life. They're man enough to kill innocent people but they aren't man enough to handle the consequences.

Although I know that my words won't make any difference. I still have to share my plea with the media. Please stop talking about these stories. I can't help but feel like this is exactly why people are committing these heinous acts. They have an ever-longing need for attention. It is almost child like; it is the same thing as a child acting out for attention. They feel like even bad attention is better than no attention.

When we flood our headlines with these stories it only adds fuel to the fire. Publishing this mans note that he left behind is exactly what he wanted to happen. This sick and distorted man stated in his note that he wanted to go out doing what he does best, killing people. This is not the mind of a man that is safe enough to be released from prison. This is not the mind of a man that anyone would want living next door or down the street or even in the same state.

Spengler does not deserve our attention. He doesn’t deserve anything from anyone. He is not worthy of our eyes to read about or our ears to hear about. He isn't even worthy of the prison cell that he once called home. The only thing that he deserved was the needle in his arm that he never received. If he had, none of this would have happened.