The amount of fan mail the Parkland shooter is receiving is unreal
Postmarked from all over the United States and Europe, they are from women, girls and grown men. Some are handwritten, others are typed. They are written on college-ruled notebook paper and in fancy greeting cards with cartoons. Some are stuffed with sexually suggestive photos of women and teens in lingerie.
There’s even a handwritten note from a Girl Scout troop in New Jersey, signed by more than a dozen girls. “May God Forgive,” they wrote.
All the pieces of mail appear to share one theme: They are sympathetic toward the person to whom they are addressed: Nikolas Cruz, the 19-year-old who shot and killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Some of the 100-plus pieces of mail sent to Nikolas Cruz since he’s been jailed.
The Broward County Public Defender’s office, which represents Cruz, says between 100 and 200 pieces of mail have arrived at the county jail where Cruz is being held.
Longtime Broward County Public Defender Howard Finkelstein told CNN he’s never seen a defendant get so many letters, which began arriving shortly after Cruz’s February 14 arrest. “Not even close,” he said.
CNN was permitted to view a small sampling of Cruz’s mail — photocopies of letters provided to the public defender’s office by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office. Of those, there wasn’t one letter that criticized the confessed killer. Multiple people, in fact, offered to send Cruz money.
Why? Some people may be sympathetic to how Cruz has been portrayed — as a person with a lot of difficulties — said Dr. Robi Ludwig, a psychotherapist and commentator.
“There are some people who are more codependent in terms of mindset that think, ‘Oh, this poor soul. I can fix him. I can be important in his life,'” she said.
Another possibility is that those writing to Cruz may be desensitized to violence through their own lives, Ludwig said.
“They’re attracted to the danger. They like somebody who is dangerous. They grew up in violence. They’re desensitized to it and, in some cases, it’s vicariously thrilling.”
These letters are part of Cruz’s file, but he may not know most of them exist. Cruz doesn’t have access to the media, so unless his attorneys or family tell him, he wouldn’t know about them. Finkelstein said he has only shared the contents of the religious letters with Cruz.
Cruz cannot receive mail while he is on suicide watch, Finkelstein said. The public defender said he didn’t know whether Cruz will receive his mail if he gets off suicide watch.
Finkelstein said he allowed the viewing of the letters to show the continued “awfulness” of the case. He has been pushing for a plea deal since the shooting — where his client pleads guilty in exchange for 34 consecutive life sentences. It would spare families of the victims from the trauma of a long legal battle, he argues.
Here’s a sampling of the cards and letters sent to Cruz. CNN was not permitted to publish images of them.
Source:-https://edition.cnn.com/2018/03/29/us/nikolas-cruz-prison-fan-mail-trnd/index.html
