Killer Clown Claims Clear Conscious

THE 900-NUMBER OF JOHN WAYNE GACY

By Emily Gerhardt

WHO WAS JOHN WAYNE GACY?

     In March of 1980, “Pogo the Clown”, otherwise known as Illinois native, John Wayne Gacy, was convicted of raping and murdering 33 young men in the greater Chicago area. The man who use to be known and respected as the clown at children’s parties and events for charity turned out to be one of the most brutal serial killers in the United States. One of the most unique parts of his case may revolve around the loyal supporters while Gacy was in prison. 

     This past March 1st marks the 25th anniversary of John Wayne Gacy’s unsettling phone line. While he received letters from the most mail out of any other inmate, he also had a more unconventional way to reach out to “fans”— via 900-toll-number. For a little under $30, people could listen to a 12-minute long statement from John Wayne Gacy stating his innocence to his crimes. The articles that focused on his claim to infamy gave broader insight to Gacy, both as a regular American and murderer on death row. While some journalists write a relatively unbiased report about his 900-number, others find it to be a cheap shot at generating revenue. Specifically, I will be looking at the differences between reporting with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Chicago Tribune to compare the differences in an article from a state outside of the murders, as well as the big city surrounding these stories.

Law enforcement removing the floorboards of Gacy's home in either 1978 or 1979, looking for evidence.

SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL

A Matter of Life or Death

It is valuable to note that this article is only posted on the Sun-Sentinel website as an online article, not as a newspaper. It’s likely that the physical newspaper was transcribed onto an online archive. 

     The Sun-Sentinel article written by A.D. Bursch is written much more like a fictional horror story than a genuine news article; this seems to play off of the third sentence where the journalist writes about Gacy’s 900-number voicemail, talking about “facts instead of fantasy” (Bursch). The article allows you to imagine the kind of fear ingrained into the listeners as they hear the serial killer state his innocence. While it begins as an easy way to slam Gacy for being some sort of twisted entrepreneur, it goes into detail into how the 900-toll number came to be. 

     The stark difference between Bursch’s reporting of John Gacy’s transcript and the creation of the 900-number attempts to show some humanity in Gacy’s mind. The idea was brought to “Pogo’s” attention by All Star Communication Inc. While most, including letters, phone calls, and interview opportunities from Oprah and Montel Williams, are asking “‘How could you?’”, All Star Communication’s Joseph Thomas is perceived in this article to be asking the audience “How could you not?”.

     The death penalty is still a controversial topic to discuss, thus creating this outlet to the public. Thomas states in an interview with journalist A.D. Bursch that “‘You have to understand something. Gacy does not admit guilt … ‘juicing somebody wrongly is the worst sin. There are two sides to every story” (Bursch). This statement alone gives the reader an opportunity to humanize Gacy, despite his heinous crimes. Murderers are generally depicted as pure evil, while Thomas tries to explain to the public that is not necessarily the case. Thomas even contrasts Gacy to another killer who publicly admitted guilt, making the readers consider the idea of the serial killer being innocent. 

Left: John Wayne Gacy dressed as Pogo the Clown as a performer at children's parties and charitable events.
Right: John Wayne Gacy's mugshot from 1978.

CHICAGO TRIBUNE: LEGAL LOGISTICS 

Gacy's Attempt at Freedom

It is valuable to note that this article is only posted on the Chicago Tribune website as an online article, not as a newspaper. It’s likely that the physical newspaper was transcribed onto an online archive.

In the article titled “Gacy’s 900 Number Hits Legal Hang-Ups”, authors William Grady, Bill Crawford, and John O’Brien write about whether or not Gacy’s plan to set up a 900-number is legally sound. The assumption can be made by the writing in the article that the idea of even considering Gacy as innocent was a nonstarter. Even the play on words in the title suggests the writing will be somewhat sarcastic and would be leaving out any part of Gacy’s side to the story. Grady, Crawford, and O’Brien introduce this information as though it’s some sort of circus act: “[…] watch for the convicted killer of 33 young men and boys to pitch his case for survival in the court of public opinion” (Grady, Crawford, O’Brien). 

Throughout the article, the authors sprinkle around statements of doubt about any sense of innocence for John Wayne Gacy, stating things like Gacy’s taped message in the phone call were merely “rambling[s]” of him “claim[ing] complete innocence of the murders”, or perhaps using those “rambling[s] to be claimed of mental illness, a soundproof way to avoid the death penalty (as “the law prohibits executing the insane”) (Grady, Crawford, O’Brien).

Not only does this article find the 900-toll-number inappropriate from a moral standpoint, it also touches quickly on its legal legitimacy before attacking Gacy once more in his attempt for publicity and compassion.  

One of many Chicago Tribune newspapers headlining Gacy's ongoing story.

A FEW MISSING DETAILS

Though it is difficult to feel sympathy towards a convicted serial killer with multitudes of evidence against him, both articles missed crucial information due to their bias against Gacy. Neither the South Florida Sun-Sentinel nor the Chicago Tribune mention the fact that the 900-number wasn’t his idea. Additionally, both articles failed to mention that Gacy even was opposed to the 900-number.

Overall, these two stories more-or-less give the reader the same information. However, the public opinion is definitely swayed to doubt John Wayne Gacy’s innocence in both the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and Chicago Tribune. While the South Florida Sun-Sentinel gives wiggle room for the reader to make a more educated decision on their feelings on Gacy, the local Chicago Tribune quickly dehumanizes the murderer. However, it may be difficult to have positive feelings towards someone who violently raped and murdered 33 men to even consider his innocence in the first place. 

John Wayne Gacy's death certificate; his cause of death is listed as homicide.

SOURCES CITED

Bursch, A.D. “GACY USES.” South Florida Sun Sentinel, Sun Sentinel, 26 Mar. 1994, www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1994-03-26-9403260060-story.html. 

Cleland, Kim. “CONVICTED KILLER GACY ON 900-LINE”. AdAge, AdAge, 21 Mar. 1994, adage.com/article/news/convicted-killer-gacy-900-line/87966/.

“Execution Date Only Hours Off For John Gacy.” The New York Times, 9 May 1994, p. 00009. 

Grady, William, et al. “Gacy's 900 Number Hits Legal Hang-Ups.” Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 28 Dec. 1993, www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1993-12-28-9312280275-story.html. 

Jenkins, J. P. (2018, May 06). John Wayne Gacy. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Wayne-Gacy

John Wayne Gacy. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/gacy237.htm

John Wayne Gacy. (2019, February 12). Retrieved from https://www.biography.com/people/john-wayne-gacy-10367544

John Wayne Gacy Executed With Lethal Injection. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://abcnews.go.com/US/video/john-wayne-gacy-executed-lethal-injection-21275314

Kifner, John. “Man Who Killed 33 Is Executed in Illnois.” The New York Times, 10 May 1994, p. 00012. 

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