When I heard Sean Lewis, brother of convicted serial killer Gerald Patrick Lewis, who was placed on Death Row, say that the world would be a better place without him, I was stunned! You rarely hear such negative candor from a family member. Though I had to wonder--both brothers had the same upbringing. So, why did Patrick become a serial killer, while Sean didn't???????????
If you want to believe the basic story, it started with a woman named Lena, a brunette. This was a woman Patrick had been with--whether in marriage or not is unclear--and by whom he had a son. Eventually, Lena saw some of the nuttiness in Patrick, and decided she did not want anything more to do with him, or her son, either. My guess is she had an insight into Patrick's violent nature.
I have to wonder about Sean and Patrick's mother. With little boys who become serial killers, it generally starts with Mother. What could have happened there? I would love to know.
That was the beginning of the end, not only for Patrick, but for his victims. He went on a killing spree through Massachusetts, Georgia, and Alabama. Almost all of the women killed were prostitutes, whom he seemed to hate. but the biggest trigger of them all was their being brunettes--like Lena. Each killing was a symbolic killing of Lena. If he just had the yen for sex, he would call an escort service, and ask for a blonde. Then sex was all that happened, and, paid, the blonde went on her way.
One night, in Georgia, he asked for a blonde, but the service, having none available, sent over Misty McGugin, 27, who was a brunette. She ended up dead.
A massive search led to Lewis' arrest and conviction. And when he was interrogated, he talked--as proudly and as casually as if he were going to Lord and Taylor to buy an elegant suit!!!!!!!!!!! What a sicko!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He was put away, for Life, but died of cancer, on July 25, 2009, at, I believe, the age of 38! Guess Sean is right--the world is a better place without him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Though in serving out his sentence, one might say he got off easy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But not where he is now, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
His mother called him Patrick and loved him very much, as did his grandmother. They supported him, emotionally and were devistated when he died. When it came time to scatter his ashes, his mom was so shaken and distraught she asked me to do it for her, as any mother who grieved their son might do. Do not be curious as to what might be her fault because it was not her fault. Gerald had untreated scizophrenia and was depressed. He said the brunette association was unrelated and Lena was the love of his life. He desparately wanted a relationship with his son and was tickled pink to find he was a grandfather. Additionally, he turned down interviews with msnbc and the like because he absolutely did not want to give the families of his victims further grief. Mental illness is serious business. It wasn't the fault of his Mom or the hair color of the women. He didn't even hate hookers, they were just easier targets because he didn't have a personal connection to them and it's easier to not get caught.
ReplyDeleteHe did some horrible things, he believed he should be on death row. He also was witty and interesting, wanted to know why he did those crimes and was hoping someone would study his brain to help others be identified before they killed anyone. I miss our friendship, although I do not condone his actions. This is just for your information, so you have the answers to your questions and a bit more. Take care!
Barbara
Thank you for sharing your perspective; I'm sorry that you lost your friend.
DeleteBarbara,
ReplyDeleteSorry for the loss of your friendship.
I recognize the problem of mental illiness,
but if he was schizoid, it was his responsibility--
or those around him--to see he took and maintained
his meds. Maybe then Lena and the others would be alive.
Thank you I definitely agree with you there. Unfortunately, it's been a long time coming for society to even be as far as we are at identifying mental illnesses and actually doing something about them. In some ways we're just peeking out of the veil of secrecy surrounding anything different about ourselves, or others. (And a whole different soapbox about what people still think is deviant behavior and treat as mental illness when it's not.)
ReplyDeleteWell, that thought I just had was enough to harsh my mellow for this morning, so I'm going to go drink some tea and get some work done. I truly hope you have a great day!
ReplyDeleteI can empathize. I have a friend--over 50 years, all the way back to kindegarten--who I hardly see anymore. He has destroyed himself with alcohol, and there are some mental health issues. He has been hospitalized, and I have visited him twice. Now, he sits at home, a recluse, not working. I saw him once this Summer, and it was like pulling teeth. Though I wanted to ask what was going on, the elephant in the room was too large. I wanted to find out what exactly was going on, but he was heavily medicated, so I doubt what kind of a responsse I would have gotten. He is still alive, and I know where he is.
I watched a show on ID about this. I think what struck me the most was the mother's "unconditinal love" for Patrick. She put him above Sean and I feel like she was a bit crazy too. Sean forgave her but I wouldn't have so he's a better person than I am. What a mess a mother's love can be...
ReplyDeleteSean, like many siblings, feels his Mom didn't love him "as much" but she didn't put Patrick first, she just didn't throw him away while Sean thought perhaps she should.
ReplyDeletePatrick told me more than once that he thought she loved Sean more- so it's just typical sibling perception between those brothers, that's all. She loved/loves both her boys very much.
ReplyDeleteCynthia and Barbie,
However the mother felt, if
he exhibited signs of mental illness
as a child--which I am certain he did--
it was her responsibility to see that
this was dealt with. I realize adults'cannot
be forced their meds and such, but maybe
some early on intervention or institutionalization
would have kept him from killing, and saved all
the victims,
According to the show on ID she did try to get him help but the doctors told her to stop bringing him because he would not participate. However, if he was diagnosed with schizophrenia, how did he get the death penalty?
Delete
ReplyDeleteWell, like I said, if he would not
participate, there was much not
they could do, beyond incarceration.
I haven't an answer to the last question,
but, maybe, if the crime was done while not
taking his meds, he might have been
considered to have known exactly what he
was doing.
As a child her could have been placed in residential treatment and gotten a court order for meds. His mother is creepy.
DeleteI don't know when he was diagnosed. I know he spent time in a psych lock up after an incident with a young girl in an elevator. Perhaps he was diagnosed there.
ReplyDeleteI'm utterly unable to answer anything as to why our system does or does not do anything (such as why he got the death penalty when he's got a mental issue) because the system is always going against what it's supposed to be doing (in my research and opinion.) I do know he did not want his attorney to fight for him, so it probably wasn't even considered in his case. It's only illegal if it's brought up and proven, I suppose. I wish I could ask him more questions, though.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand the system,
either. They seem to do what
they want.
He was not schizophrenic. Based on the descriptions of his behavior by his family, he was a psychopath - born without a conscience, no remorse/guilt, not deterred by negative consequences and would never have changed; he was completely narcissistic and unable to truly love another person. Brain scans of psychopaths show distinct differences in the structure and active areas of their brains. They simply don't care about the wants, needs, or feelings of others.
ReplyDeleteAgreed and we'll said
DeleteAgree.
DeleteTrina, Please know tv shows edit for shock value. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia and I heard all about the voices for years as his friend and pen pal. He had a conscience, as there were many things we discussed over the years that proved that to me. Just two examples that come to mind - when a girl he choked out (what sent him to the mental institution where he was diagnosed) testified against him, he told me was relieved that she had looked him in the eye and flagged him a bird, he hoped it meant that he hadn't completely broken her spirit. He refused to be interviewed by the tv stations because he did not want the family of the victims to suffer more at watching that. I didn't coax him into that, that was straight up what he felt. He was all over the place at different times of the year (sometimes the brain picks seasons to weird out more than others) but he honestly wanted someone to dig into his brain upon his death to figure out what was wrong with him, so it could be understood and fixed in other people in the future. I learned of a fluid that serial offenders don't have as much of in their brain as people who either learn from their first arrest or never screw up to begin with. (I mean offender of any repeat kind, not just murders.) We called this fluid "Brake Fluid" because it stops people like me from doing things wrong over and over again - and I have it, but it doesn't stop others who don't have it. Brake fluid (to me, because I work on cars) just sounded appropriate. Would he ever have changed? I can't say that, since he said he belonged where he was and was afraid to do normal slap and tickle sexual acts (like a bit of choking, etc.) because he was afraid he would not be able to stop - so he was afraid of himself, that's for sure. However, on an interesting (to me) note - when we discussed his voices, he honestly thought the correctional officers could get into his head and not only read his thoughts, but were trying to get him to kill himself. He was terribly upset by the things he thought the officers were saying to him and trying to get him to do, and he said once that if they didn't stop, he was going to take advantage of the situation when one got too near him and careless. I told him what I thought - that the schizophrenia made it seem so real to him that the officers could do that - but that officers were just average folks doing a job and didn't have those special powers he was sure they had. I asked him to promise me that he wouldn't do it "just in case I am right" so he wouldn't take someone's father or husband away from them based on something he thought was real and that wasn't real. He promised me he wouldn't - but did struggle for a long time with it, because he truly had a hard time trying to believe the voices were not real people, only real thoughts he gave himself. I don't hear voices, so I can not understand. (to be continued)
ReplyDelete(Part 2 of 2) Another thing I find interesting, is I read that sometimes people hear voices because they are repressing something so terrible as a secret - of course I didn't believe what I read, because we all repress something... but then he had always told me he had a deep dark secret he never told anyone about. I assumed it was another body somewhere - but when he finally told me what the secret was, I assured him that if he had access to the internet, he would realize that it's a fairly common thing among men and absolutely nothing he should feel was THAT deep and dark a secret. Not something you want to bring up over noon tea with your mother - or even a girlfriend - but certainly not something uncommon. It was shortly before he died, and he never told me he stopped hearing voices, but another inmate who wrote to me and told me of his death did mention he had stopped hearing voices several days before he died. Was it that he got the secret out, that I reassured him it wasn't a big deal (certainly not as big of a deal as murder!) or that whatever killed him (they claim cancer) ate away at the portion of the brain that causes the voices - I will never know. Of course I vainly hope it was my words that helped - but that's wishful thinking - because he was my friend. Anyway, I do know someone who is a psychopath (they are often very good business people, by the way) and they're not a killer, just impossible to get any love from. Gerald Patrick Lewis loved his mother, his grandmother, the mother of his child, his son, his grandchild he never met and not in a "girlfriend" kind of way, but his love and concern for me and my daughter and the things bothering me in my life - he definitely did not fall into the category of not being able to truly love another person. He did not love himself, that was clear. I know most people will never understand, but I absolutely miss him. I can hate what he did, not understand fully what caused him to do it, and I am horrified at what his acts did to the families of his victims - but he spent a lot of energy telling me how to keep myself and my daughter safe from being the victims of a serial killer, and we both to this day don't park in what we call "Gerald" parking spots and we both are concealed carry permit holders, as well as practice all kinds of safety measures he suggested. Sorry this is so long, I'm having a rough patch in my life unrelated to this at all - but it's made me miss him. He was always able to make me feel better about stuff, and when this popped up in my email, I guess I just spilled it all out here. I'm not proof reading, so if ANYTHING I've said makes you think I am arguing with you or being at all disrespectful to you, please know that is never my intent. I'm just letting you know what I know, in case you are curious or interested. If you do not see what I am trying to show you, and you still think your diagnosis of his mental illness is correct - please know that I don't have any issue with that. I'm perfectly cool with discussion of disagreements. I'm just giving you more information for food for thought. I hope you have a bright and wonderful day.
ReplyDeleteAs being someone with mental illness I can personally tell you people are misdiagnosed All the time I understand he was your friend but as you said psychopaths are good business people and can talk a good game and not from just watching the show but doing research and reading your comments it sounds to me like that could very well be what he did with you as he did with his family police ect all his life and being a person who has mental illness I myself cannot stand the way out justice system uses that as a cop out for people who commit horrific crimes like this and they pretty much get off it sickens me people need to take responsibility for their actions mentally ill or not and I've had a couple of murders happen very close in my inner circle family or friends who committed them and I don't feel sorry for them as much as I love them they need to take responsibility for their actions period so like I said I understand he was your friend/family but it sounds like to me he was misdiagnosed and was a psychopath and talked a good game and I'm sorry you have all gone through I have too and it sucks but I can totally see where the brother is coming from as the mother I hope you can somehow someday find peace with this
Delete
ReplyDeleteBarbie, Dear,
That does not excuse him being a sick
killer. He did not deserve what was done
to him early in life, but neither is anyone.
And not all become killers over it.
No, it's not an excuse. Just further information- I find it interesting and wish more would be done to identify mental health issues early. So many issues could be prevented- suicides, school shootings, bullying, serial killing, etc.
ReplyDeleteCertainly worth a try.
ReplyDeleteBarbie,
I agree with you on that.
At work places, mental health and
sometimes dentistry are at the bottom
of health coverage, and both are
extremely important!
ReplyDeleteAmanda,
Thank you for your eloquent
comments. And I hope you
find peace in you own battle
with mental illness.
My best to you!
ReplyDeleteAnne-Marie A,
Thank you for sharing on here.
You are welcome any time!
He knew the difference between right and wrong
ReplyDeleteOne mistake yes I accept
He was a career criminal and was evil
No remorse is not the action of a schizophrenic it's the action of a uncontrollable liar
He always covered his tracks on all crimes
No excuse for so many crimes
ReplyDeletePaul,
I thank you for your
comments, which were right
on target. I wish you
the best!
ReplyDeleteUnknown,
Thank you very much.
Feel free to drop in on here, anytime!
I think it's a shame that in this day and age, society (and you, a womsn!) still take every opportunity to blame the mother.
ReplyDeleteLena raised her son and loved him immensely. not sure where you got your info.
ReplyDeleteUnknown,
ReplyDeleteLena is a disciple of the Devil, darling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Silvergirl,
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to making serial killers,
it often is the mother. And what makes you
so sure I am a woman???????????
CJ,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the insightful comments.
I agree with you. That mother was creepy!