BloguesRichard Martineau

Le prochain job de Guy Cloutier?

Une nouvelle qui est parue sur le site Yahoo:

"An online auction of artwork by a serial sex killer triggered outrage in Massachusetts on Tuesday where lawmakers proposed to block criminals from profiting on what they called "murderabilia", setting off a debate on free speech rights of prisoners.

A colored pencil sketch of Jesus Christ kneeling in a desert by Alfred Gaynor, a serial killer serving four life sentences for sodomizing and choking to death four women, went on sale on Tuesday on a Web site operated by a prisoner advocacy group.

It was one of nearly 300 artworks offered for auction through December 18 on The Fortune Society's Web site.

The artwork of America's most notorious killers – ranging from pencil drawings by Charles Manson to a painting by executed serial killer John Wayne Gacy – fetch hefty sums from collectors of "murderabilia."

"We're taught in society that crime doesn't pay, but here we are allowing crime to pay and it's sending the wrong message to people," said Koutoujian, a former prosecutor.

Lana Wachniak, a professor at Kennesaw State University and an expert on serial killer art, argues most serial killers use art to promote a veneer of normalcy and do not care about the profit from a potential sale.

The Fortune Society said its online and studio art show draws work from a wide range of prisoners – not just killers – and most items sell for less than $100."

Pas mal, non? Vive la liberté d'expression…