Exceptional Cases
by Craig Elliott on January 19, 2011One comment
So, have you ever had occasion to wonder what motivates a person to go through the process that would lead them to assassinate or attempt to assassinate a prominent public figure such as a politician or celebrity? Ever feel a certain amount of frustration that there doesn’t seem to be a credible, dispassionate source for answers to the questions you have about what the hell goes on in the mind of an assassin? Well, buck up there, friend. There is. It’s called the Exceptional Case Study Project, a study of every person who killed or tried to kill a significant public figure in the United States between 1949 and 1996, including jailhouse interviews where possible. As long as you believe that words mean something and can see your way to believing things that THE GOVERNMENT tells you, it’s an interesting read.
Also, just in case, Wired has digested the report for you.
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One comment
Matthew Payne on January 19, 2011 at 7:26 am. #
Good find, Eliot. The broad description outlined by the Exceptional Project more or less fits the historical profile of assassins as well–especially the “dry-run” aspect and the ambivalent loner grabbing on to some justification–such as personal grievance or romantic cause–to end his or her own humiliation.
Just a note, for the history books–the “Exceptionals” described here might be called celebrity assassins, since they are focused on highly visible public figures (killing Ford or killing Lennon is essentially the same process). Most assassinations, both historically and contemporary, are low-level functionaries of the state being targeted for instrumental violence for political reasons. The words “assassin” and “terrorist” are not really equal in the case of celebrity assassins but certainly are equivalent in targeting regular members of the community (say in Basra or the reconstruction South) or lower-level functionaries of the state (the 4,000 or so state officials murdered in the Russian Revolution of 1905 or present-day assassinations in Afghanistan).