Charles Louman Meach III (October 1, 1947 – December 9, 2004)[2] was an American serial killer active in Alaska.
Charles L. Meach | |
|---|---|
| Born | Charles Louman Meach III October 1, 1947 Traverse City, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | December 9, 2004 (aged 57) Anchorage, Alaska, U.S. |
| Conviction(s) | Murder x5 |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment |
| Details | |
| Victims | 5 |
Span of crimes | 1973–1982 |
| Country | United States |
| State(s) | Alaska |
Date apprehended | May 6, 1982[1] |
Early life
editMeach was born in Traverse City, Michigan, to a mother who had schizophrenia. He left home at sixteen to travel and accumulated a long record of minor crimes.[3]
Murders
editMeach made his way to Anchorage, Alaska, and in 1973 he beat 22-year-old Robert Johnson, who worked as a grocery clerk, to death in Earthquake Park.[3] He was charged with murder, found not guilty by reason of insanity and sent to Atascadero State Hospital in California. In 1980, psychiatrists decided that his illness was in remission and he was returned to Alaska under the supervision of the Alaska Psychiatric Institute. In 1981, Meach worked several jobs and was enrolled at the University of Alaska.[1]
On May 3, 1982, armed with a .38-caliber revolver that he had bought from a man on the street, he shot four teenagers to death while robbing their campsite in Russian Jack Springs Park; two 19-year-old boys, one 16-year-old girl and one 17-year-old girl. The teens were planning on going to the movies, when Meach shot them in cold blood.[1][4] He confessed to the killings when confronted and was charged.[5] Meach again pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, but was convicted and sentenced to 396 years in prison without the possibility of parole — the longest sentence in the state's history.[6]
Aftermath
editIn response to the shootings, the Alaska Legislature revised the criminal statutes on the sentencing of the mentally ill, providing for a new verdict "guilty, but mentally ill" where the convicted will serve their time in a mental institution until deemed healthy, then be transferred to prison for the rest of their sentence. This revision did not apply to Meach's trial, or consequently his sentence.[1] The legislature also narrowed the definition of insanity and tightened the burden of proof for the basic insanity defense. This resulted in Alaska having one of the strictest conditions for the insanity defense of all US states.[7]
Meach died of natural causes on December 9, 2004, in the Cook Inlet jail.[8]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d Wallace Turner (June 22, 1982). "New law on insanity plea stirs dispute in Alaska". New York Times.
- ^ "Charles Louman Meach III (1947-2004) - Find A Grave". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
- ^ a b Brennan, Tom. Murder at 40 Below: True Crime Stories from Alaska. Epicenter Press, 2001.
- ^ Sheila Toomey (1990). "MURDERS CAUSED DEEP PUBLIC, PRIVATE CHANGES". Anchorage Daily News.
- ^ "Mental patient admits shootings". The Phoenix, 5/8/1982.
- ^ "Multiple Murders Shake Alaska's Idyllic Linage". Palm Beach Post, Mar 31, 1983.
- ^ DeBusk, Suzan E. "Alaska's Insanity Defense and the Guilty but Mentally Ill Verdict." Alaska L. Rev. 4 (1987): 171.
- ^ Shelia Toomey (December 10, 2004). "Murderer dies in city jail cell". Anchorage Daily News.