Paul Crump
Paul Crump(April 2, 1930 – October 11, 2002) was a death row inmate who gained international notoriety and parole after writing the novelBurn, Killer, Burn.
Crimes and prison sentences
[edit]Crump served 39 years in prison for killing a security guard in the armed robbery of a Chicago meatpacking plant in 1953. His four accomplices received prison sentences, but Crump was sentenced to die in theelectric chairand had 15 execution dates beforeLouis Nizertook on his case and the sentence was commuted to 119 years by Gov.Otto Kerner.He was paroled in 1993.
He returned to prison after being convicted of harassing a family member and violating an order of protection.[1]
Book
[edit]His novelBurn, Killer, Burn!is autobiographical and was published by the black-ownedJohnson Publishing Companyin 1962.[2]It is about a murderer who commits suicide rather than be executed. Lifemagazine on July 27, 1962, featured a 4-page article on Paul Crump, "Facing Death, A New Life Perhaps Too Late".
Documentaries
[edit]William Friedkinproduced and directed a documentary for television titledThe People vs. Paul Crumpin 1962, when Crump had been on death row for nine years. The program was not aired, due to content regarded as controversial.[3]Nizer's involvement with attorney Donald Moore in the legal battle to have Crump's death sentence commuted was the subject ofRobert Drew's 1963 documentaryThe Chair.[4]
In song
[edit]Folk singerPhil Ochswrote a song entitled "Paul Crump" that chronicled Crump's life. The song appears on three albums by Ochs:The Early Years,A Toast to Those Who Are Gone,andOn My Way.
Death
[edit]Crump died of cancer at age 72, on October 12, 2002, at the Chester Mental Health Center inChester, Illinois.
References
[edit]- ^"Paul Crump, 72, Killer Who Wrote Novel".The New York Times.2002-10-17.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2023-02-07.
- ^"How a Prisoner Became a Writer".Ebony.18(1): 88–94. November 1962 – via Google Books.
- ^"The People vs. Paul Crump (TV Movie 1962) - IMDb".IMDb.
- ^P.J. O'Connell (1992).Robert Drew and the Development of Cinema Verite in America.Southern Illinois University Press.pp.141–149.ISBN0-8093-1779-6.
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