Henry lee lucas “The Confession killer” By: sam nellis

background Born in Blacksburg, VA on August 23, 1936 His father was very abusive Lucas’s mother was a prostitute who would force him to watch her have sex with clients His mother also made him go to school as a girl on one occasion Was an alcoholic by the age of 10 December 1949- Lucas’s father died from hypothermia because he passed out drunk outside during a blizzard He dropped out of school in 6th grade During his teenage years, he was introduced to bestiality and animal cruelty In a fight with his step-brother, he damaged his eye and now has a glass eye Convicted of several counts of burglary 1954, was imprisoned, and later escaped but was recaptured, only to be released in September of 1959 Lucas killed his mother on January 12th, 1960 He plead self defense, but was rejected and served 15 years in prison He was released on August 22nd, 1975 During his release was when he committed the majority of his crimes

Crimes and sentences Crime Date Victim(s) Punishment Murder January 11th, 1960 Viola Lucas (Lucas’s mother) Sentenced to 20-40 years in prison, only served 15 Unknown 82-year-old, Kate Rich Life in prison Frieda 'Becky' Powell Unlawful Possession of Firearms June 1983 Taken to jail where he started confessing to many crimes that were later found untrue

Most recent crime Lucas befriended Ottis Toole in Jacksonville, Florida and also became close to Toole’s adolescent niece Becky Powell. They traveled to California where he met his future employer Kate Rich. She eventually let them go because they were accused of not doing their jobs and writing checks on her account. They left and started to hitchhike but Powell ended up leaving him in Texas. According to some of his later accounts, Lucas murdered Powell and Rich and ended up leading the police to their remains. Even though Lucas later denied involvement, he was convicted of killing Powell and Rich. He was first put on death row and then taken off and given life in prison.

Evidence Brought against henry Lee Lucas Henry Lee Lucas originally confessed to hundreds of unsolved murders He then recanted these because he only said this to improve his living conditions He was convicted of 11 murders which he confessed to all and proved it by leading the police to the spot where he dumped Powell and Toole’s bodies. “My victims never knew what was going to happen to them. I've had shooting, knifings, strangulations, beatings, and I've participated in actual crucifixions of humans. All across the country, there's people just like me, who set out to destroy life.”

Sentence Lucas remained convicted of 11 homicides. He had been sentenced to death for one, an unidentified woman named ”Orange Socks," whose body was found in Texas, on Halloween of 1979. Lucas was granted a stay on his death sentence after telling a hearing that the details in his confession came from the case file, which he had been given to read. The sentence was life in prison in 1998. On March 12, 2001, at 11pm Lucas was found dead in prison from heart failure at age 64.

Cultural references Movies Books Songs Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) Trailer Drifter: Henry Lee Lucas (2009) Books The Confessions of Henry Lee Lucas Henry Lee Lucas: The Shocking True Story of America's Most Notorious Serial Killer Songs "Murder Company" – Church of Misery "Serial Killer" – Macabre "Henry" - Os Catalepticos "Henry Lee Lucas" - Bizarre Scums "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" - Fantômas "Henry Lee Lucas" - Dahmer "Lucas Toole" - Downthesun

What Sociological Theory of Deviance best explains? The sociological theory of deviance that explains Henry Lee Lucas the best is the Behavioral Theory. The Behavioral Theory says that people are not born with the violent disposition but rather learn to think and act violently as a result of their day-to-day experience. Henry Lee Lucas’s childhood experiences have effected him traumatically and I believe this is why Lee committed these crimes in the first place. He grew up around abuse, both physical and sexual, and this probably had a very large impact on his life. His father abused him often and his mother was a prostitute who would force his to watch her “job”. Anyone with that type of background would probably have a hard time growing up normally. Lucas decided to go the criminal path instead of trying to fix his mental problems.