Joliet Prisons

Joliet Prisons

Speck tape might do some good

* The issue: Prison video of feared mass murderer raises cloud over state's corrections department.

The sickening sight of a smirky, smarmy mass murderer reaching unrepentedly from his grave via videotape into our living rooms is the best example we can fathom for the death penalty.

With no contrition or sorrow in his voice, Richard Speck, who brutally murdered eight student nurses 30 years ago this July, appears eerily on videotape to be having a great time in Stateville Corrections Center, coquettishly attired in shocking blue bikini-style briefs and sharing what appears to be a large stash of cocaine with a fellow inmate. At one point on the tapes aired on WBBM-TV, Speck brags, "If they only knew how much fun I was having in here, they would turn me loose." Unlikely, since Speck, one of the nation's most notorious serial killers, died behind bars five years ago of a heart attack.

WBBM newsman Bill Kurtis, who procured the two-hour tape last summer and positioned it smartly to be telecast during the prime May sweeps month, believes it was made in 1988. In another segment of the murderer's view video, an unmerciful Speck admits he killed his Chicago victims, a heinous act which at the time sent the entire Chicago area into a panic until his capture. With no remorse in his voice, a sneering Speck notes he unfortunately missed killing the lone survivor who later identified him, sending him to prison.

Legislative hearings began Wednesday with Illinois corrections officials called on the carpet to explain just how a feared killer could brazenly get away with what viewers saw and be the subject of jailhouse video done by fellow prisoners. And, surely, television will come in for its fair share in the latest round of blaming the messenger. As crime victims, law enforcement officials and taxpayers push state lawmakers toward making prison time hard time, building more prisons and taking away perks in the prison, we wonder how many other murderers have been cavorting in Illinois prisons.

In an unintended way, Speck may actually do some good by appearing in these tapes. The tapes are so startling that a close examination of life behind bars is sure to follow. Speck's tape may cause changes that will end the lifestyle that he apparently enjoyed in prison. The legislative hearings are likely to stretch into the summer and perhaps there will be more revelations. The purpose of Speck appearing on the tapes is not clear, but he might accomplish exactly what he was boasting about avoiding. The prison life that Speck enjoyed may come to a halt because of his outrageous behavior.

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