Florence – Olympic bomber Eric Rudolph laments in a series of letters that the caged atmosphere of the federal prison where is spending the rest of his life is designed to drive him insane.
Rudolph, who hid out from authorities for five years in the woods of western North Carolina before being captured, says in correspondence with The Gazette newspaper in Colorado Springs that his surroundings at the Supermax prison are getting to him.
“It is a closed-off world designed to isolate inmates from social and environmental stimuli, with the ultimate purpose of causing mental illness and chronic physical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and arthritis,” he wrote.
Rudolph wrote that he spends 23 hours a day in his 7-by-12-foot cell, adding that his only exercise is in an enclosed area he described as a “large empty swimming pool” divided into “dog-kennel style cages.”
“Using solitary confinement, Supermax is designed to inflict as much misery and pain as is constitutionally permissible,” he wrote.
Rudolph’s victims have no sympathy for him.
“It gives me a great deal of pride to think he’s never coming out of there,” said Diane Derzis, who runs a Birmingham, Ala., women’s clinic Rudolph bombed in 1998. “He should never see daylight again.”
The newspaper reported in its Sunday editions that it has corresponded by mail with Rudolph for more than a year. Prison officials have refused a Gazette request to interview Rudolph. The newspaper, for its part, refused Rudolph’s request that it publish his writings in their entirety.
Besides criticizing the conditions at the prison, Rudolph reiterated in the letters that he is unrepentant for his actions.
In August 2005, Rudolph was sentenced to life in prison without parole for setting off a bomb in a park at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta that killed one person and injured 111 others, and also for setting off two bombs in 1997 that injured 11 – one at a gay nightclub and the other at an Atlanta abortion clinic.
He was previously sentenced to life in prison for a deadly explosion at the women’s clinic in Birmingham. That blast killed a police officer and maimed a nurse.
LAKEWOOD
Husband arrested in stabbing of 2 women
A man was arrested in Lakewood on Saturday night on suspicion of stabbing his wife and killing another woman.
Just before 9:30 p.m., Lakewood police were called to the 6700 block of West 19th Place on a report of a stabbing. Police found Pamela Hamm, 22, who later died, and Jennifer Worley, 22, who was wounded. Both had been stabbed.
The suspect, Glen Worley, 25, was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder in the stabbing of Hamm. Worley came to the apartment to turn himself in to police at the scene.
Lakewood spokeswoman Stacie Oulton said it is not clear how Worley and Hamm knew each other or if they were related.
The suspect was also taken to the hospital but was not treated for physical injuries.
STATEWIDE
5 of 50 most wanted captured in dragnet
Five fugitives were arrested and taken off Colorado’s 50 most-wanted list Sunday as part of a joint effort by 14 Colorado law enforcement agencies to capture criminal suspects.
One hundred officers pursued tips called into Crime Stoppers during the 12-hour dragnet Sunday.
Robert Wright, who ranked No. 9 on the list of Colorado’s 50 most wanted, was arrested on charges of being a sex offender.
No. 16 Stephen Olmsted was captured on escape charges; No. 18 Shane Johnston on charges of first-degree burglary and second-degree kidnapping; No. 20 Erik Charon was arrested in connection with various drug charges; No. 34 Francisco Charles was arrested on charges of aggravated motor vehicle theft.
The calls to Crime Stoppers were “constant,” said Denver police spokesman Sonny Jackson.
“People need to realize that this is not a one-day deal – this is ongoing enforcement,” he said. “We want them to keep calling if anyone sees someone they recognize.”
Metro Denver Crime Stoppers offers rewards of up to $2,000 for information leading to the arrest of any of the 50 most wanted. Tipsters can remain anonymous. Crime Stoppers hotline: 720-913-7867.
CASPER
Snowpack amounts below Wyo. average
Wyoming’s snowpack is lagging behind average levels so far this winter, and state officials warn that unless things turn around, the state’s reservoir storage will suffer next year.
Snowpack statewide was 73 percent of average for the week that ended Friday. On Nov. 27, the statewide average was 80 percent of average.
Steve Gray, state climatologist, said there always is natural variation in snowfall.
“But it is a bit of a concern,” Gray said.
The North Platte basin is particularly dry, he said.
