For artistic felons, crime shouldn’t pay

BostonHerald.com - Opinion & Letters: "Alfred Gaynor will never be confused with Pablo Picasso. That said, the serial murderer who raped and strangled four Springfield women might collect a tidy sum when his colored pencil drawing depicting Jesus Christ at prayer is auctioned off by a prisoners’ advocacy group.

Relatives of Gaynor’s victims are, understandably, outraged. But the discussion here should not be confined to Gaynor. Of greater concern is the idea that any convicted killer in Massachusetts might find a way to profit from his hideous crimes.

Massachusetts does not have a so-called “Son of Sam” law on the books that bars criminals from profiting off their crimes – through book sales, selling the rights to their life story or any other method.

The Supreme Judicial Court in 2002 ruled a proposed bill unconstitutional on free speech grounds. The nation’s high court had earlier ruled that the original notoriety-for-profit law – a New York statute named for serial killer David Berkowitz (also known as Son of Sam) – was overly broad. It might have prevented publication of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” for example.

In response to the Herald’s report about Gaynor’s art auction, Rep. Peter Koutoujian (D-Waltham) announced he will file a revised bill that would still allow felons to write their memoirs or sketch to their heart’s content. But they would be barred from profiting off their crimes.

As a newspaper, we vigorously defend the constitutional right to free speech. But there are ways to narrowly tailor a statute so criminals like Gaynor are free to express themselves in whatever form they choose – but are prevented from taunting their victims by earning a profit they otherwise would never have realized. Out of respect for Gaynor’s victims – and for all crime victims – it must be explored."