15 Of The Most Twisted Minds Who Were Set Free
Felons are convicted everyday, and many get the due punishment they deserve. However, many people are sometimes wrongly accused, and spend time that someone else deserved. This doesn’t happen often, but it can drastically change a person. One who was once a free person, can be changed by being locked up with real criminals. This can in turn, turn them into a criminal when they’re finally released into the world. This also doesn’t happen often, but it is a flaw in the judicial system.
Other times people don’t get the sentences they deserve, whether it be short sentences, or none at all. There are several intricacies that go into the law, and many loopholes. A popular loophole, that many lawyers try to go after is the insanity plea. This is where the person convicted of the actions, know no better, so they should be treated differently, and receive a lighter sentence, or not one at all.
This is usually the right choice, but sometimes the court system messes up, and releases someone into the world that has every intention to do it again. These cases are few and far between, but they do exist. The judicial system isn’t perfect, and these fifteen criminals can prove it.
15. Carl Tanzler
Carl Tanzler was a doctor, and fell in love with one of his patients. When she passed away Carl didn’t let that stop him. He ordered the burial spot for the woman, and decided to keep the key for himself. After a few days he decided to remove the body from the cemetery, and present it in his home. The strange nature didn’t end there, and he put the woman’s body in his bed so he could sleep with her every night.
When the woman’s body began decaying, he’d find ways to replace her parts, and even bought her a new wardrobe. This went on for seven years after Tanzler was caught dancing with the deceased woman’s body, and was spotted through his front window. However, the doctor wasn’t charged because the statute of limitations expired for his crime. The man was let go, and wasn’t faced with any charges for his morbid actions.
14. Father Mario Cimmarrusti
Father Mario Cimmarrusti was a priest who was accused of assaulting over 200 boys, ranging from early teens to late teens. It’s said the priest was one of the worst assaulters in the history of the Catholic Church-hood. He would perform unspeakable things to the boys, and would then threaten them if they dared to talk. Many of the other members of the church would walk in while he was “performing acts” on the boys, and didn’t say anything out of the risk of losing their jobs.
The church protected Mario, and even after admitting it several times, on almost all of the boys’ accounts, he still walked free. He had several psychological examinations done, and continued to openly admit his actions, as if proud of them. The man walked free for his whole life, and never saw the inside of a jail cell. He died in 2013 at the age of 82 years.
13. Rick Gibson
Rick Gibson was a man of strange hobbies. He was known as the man who would eat human ‘parts’ in public. In the late 1980’s, Gibson took his friend’s tonsils, after he had them removed, and proceeded to go to out to a busy street, and consumed them while wearing a sign that read “Meet a Cannibal”. He proceeded with this trend, and even consumed other human ‘parts’ while out in public.
In England, cannibalism isn’t illegal, and Gibson legally bought all of the human parts, so he couldn’t be tried. The law did however, fine Gibson with five hundred euros for indecency in public. The public also took the law into their own hands, when Gibson used rats to paint with, and it formed an angry mob who chased the man, literally out of town.
12. James Sligo Jameson
James Sligo Jameson bought a young girl, and forced her to be eaten in front of him for his enjoyment, by cannibals. James’ colleagues would often admit to his fascination with cannibalism, and when he said he was going to Congo to help in relief efforts, those close to him expected the worst. The cost of the small girl’s life was six single handkerchiefs to a tribe leader, and the girl was in the possession of Jameson.
Jameson was proud of his actions, and even wrote up a report of what he’d done. This was only after word of his actions reached his friends back home, but he didn’t seem to deny any of his actions. Writing his letter he wanted to clear up the point that he sketched the girl only after she was eaten by the cannibals, putting him in a worse situation to the public eye. Due to the time period this happened in, Jameson was never charged.
11. Vince Li
Vince Li was the perpetrator of a crime that took place on a bus, in which Li removed the head of a man named Tim McLean. Passengers quickly flew from the bus in fear, and Li began to bite into the man as he was slowly losing life. Vince was brought in for his crimes, but never saw the inside of a cell, and only eight years later was completely swept clean of the claims made against him.
The court found Li criminally insane, and sent him to a mental hospital. However, in Canada the law states that when a patient feels they are fit to go back into society, the asylum has to grant that. He was sent home with his house full of cameras to make sure everyone knows where he’s at, at all times, and that he takes his medicine. However, in 2017 he was even released of this burden, and it’s as if his morbid crimes never happened.
10. Mitchell Johnson
In the late 80’s Mitchell Johnson, and his accomplice Andrew Golden, stole guns, and setup a plan for a school shooting. One of the two ran inside to pull the fire alarm, where the other could open fire; they took the lives of three children, and one teacher. Mitchell wasn’t new to the world of crime, as he confirmed assaulting a young child. For what he did at the school, he only received seven years in juvie.
The law states that in juvie, children are to be released when they are full grown adults, and Mitchell was released at the age of 21. Mitchell is still in trouble with the law a lot, and is constantly being put in jail, only to be released into the world again. The two boys are the only two school shooters that are allowed to walk freely.
9. Steven Avery
The famous Steven Avery, gained his fame recently through the Netflix documentary Making a Murderer. Avery ended up serving 18 years in jail for a crime he “supposedly” didn’t commit. After having well over a dozen alibis saying he wasn’t there, and DNA evidence not matching him, it didn’t matter. After the state declared that the DNA evidence be retested, Avery was released.
His story doesn’t end there however. It’s said that a photographer who was going to Avery’s property to take photos of his junk yard went missing that same day. Avery was then arrested again for the murder of the reporter, and many say that due to the past “accidental” arrest, that Avery should be considered a special case. There is a lot of speculation that Avery is innocent even in this, but he is now serving a life sentence according to the judicial system.
8. William Seabrook
William Seabrook was obsessed with voodoo zombies. It’s claimed that Seabrook’s writings of the subject are one of the reasons zombies are so popular today. In the 20’s Seabrook became so obsessed that similar to Sligo Jameson, he went to Africa to join a cannibalistic tribe, however the tribesman didn’t take to Seabrook, and simply gave him gorilla meat.
This didn’t stop Seabrook. He worked at a hospital where he would steal human remains after hours, and prepare them for consumption. He even invited co workers, and friends to watch him eat. This wasn’t technically a crime at the time, and he even confirmed he was doing it in his book, where he wrote about his experiences. Seabrook lived the rest of his life free…
7. Thaddeus Jimenez
Thaddeus Jimenez was wrongly convicted several times, but had already had over twenty arrests around this time. Jimenez spent most of his childhood behind bars, and in and out of juvie. 13 year old Jimenez was convicted due to a gang shootout he had no part of. After years in prison Jimenez was compensated for his wrongful sentence, with 25 million dollars in damage costs.
However, it came out later that Jimenez was part of a large gang that worked out of Chicago, and he joined when he was only 11. It’s said that after being exonerated for his crimes, he went back to the Chicago gang, and lived among them. Many believe Thaddeus sees these men as the only family he has left.
6. Andre Davis
Andre Davis was convicted of the murder of a three year old child. He believed he was innocent, and after over twenty years of serving, he sent a letter to the “Center On Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University”. They took his case up, and suggested to bring the DNA found back into the case. However, the DNA found was the one thing solidifying that Andre was indeed the murderer.
After 32 years in prison, Andre was released. However, only a short time after being released from prison, Andre did it again. He was playing a gambling game with his family, and after one man was accused of cheating, his nephew shot him. Andre decided instead of ratting his nephew out, he’d bury the body. Murderers never change…
5. Pedro Lopez
Pedro Lopez spent 14 years in prison, which seems like a long sentence, but when you hear his crimes, it seems like they just let him walk free. Pedro would lure small girls in, and do unspeakable things to them before ending their lives. He did this so much, that he made a mass grave, where he’d dump the many bodies.
Lopez was caught in 1980, and after the police found the mass grave he was still only sentenced to sixteen years in jail. He was then released two years early for good behavior. Someone who’s taken the lives of over 300 people doesn’t get to have good behavior, but according to the judicial system in Ecuador, that’s not the case. It’s said that Pedro is out in the world wanted for other things.
4. Karla Homolka
Karla Homolka, and her boyfriend Paul Bernardo were known as the Barbie and Ken couple. There should be a subtitle that reads: from hell. It’s claimed that they assaulted, and took the lives three people in Canada, but it’s all but confirmed they murdered many more. When the two got married, Homolka kidnapped her little sister, and gave her to her husband as a wedding present.
It’s said that they filmed all of their acts, and it helped convict them during the case. Her husband Paul saw a life sentence, but for Karla she saw a much lighter sentence. She only spent 12 years in prison, and is now released living a new life. Since then Karla remarried, and has several kids, living with her past.
3. Issei Sagawa
Issei Sagawa had a desire for humans, and he kept it tame, but one day he couldn’t take anymore. Issei decided his first victim would be one of his classmates, and he would lure them into his apartment where he took her life. He then began to consume the woman, and when attempting to dispose of her body in a lake, he was caught by police, and admitted to it all.
When he was tried, it was confirmed by the French court system he was insane, and didn’t have the right to a fair trial. He was soon expedited back to Japan, his home. When Japan realized his actions, they attempted to review the French court’s documents during the trial, but the French court refused, and closed the case. Sagawa walked a free man, and is now making money of his crimes by writing books. He even has claimed to want to taste human again, and has said he’d murder again.
2. Michael Mcallister
Michael Mcallister is mostly known for being a s*x offender. Many would consider Micheal to be very unlucky, as when he was convicted it was from a victim picking him out in a lineup. This victim was subjected to the offence, but not from Michael. The real perpetrator, looked just like Michael, and did his crimes in the same apartment complex that Michael lived in. Again… unlucky, but also deserved right?
When Mcallister was released from the time he served for the mistake on the investigator’s end, he violated his parole with a driving-under-the-influence incident. Not only did he get convicted for something he didn’t do, but when he released, he broke the law, and is now serving a life sentence for that DUI. Maybe it’s better he’s just left in jail.
1. Chad Heins
Chad Heins was convicted of taking his sister in law’s life, while his brother was on military deployment. Chad’s story lines up with him being at the scene of the murder. He claimed he simply fell asleep, and woke up to several small fires around the apartment. After putting out the fires, he then realized the body of his sister in law. He claims he slept through all of it.
It turns out he did indeed sleep through the incident, and was later released of his conviction. It came out that Heins had a strange sleeping disorder, that when mixed with alcohol can make it very hard for him to wake up. However, after his time in prison Heins learned a few things to practice back in the real world. Chad was later convicted of tax fraud, where he stole social security numbers, and filed false returns.