American Gulag The Death Of Budd Dwyer Essay, Research Paper

I had never been more stunned and deeply disturbed in my entire life. As I watched from the comfort of a friends living room, one mans personal hell had just spun wildly out of control and very abruptly ended. Life and death captured in vivid Technicolor right on television just for my amusement. The world can be a truly wretched place at times. I will never forget how the scene unfolded. A portly, balding middle aged man was standing behind a small podium during what appeared to be a press conference. He was speaking to the cameras about some “travesty of justice” which had befallen him, and began calling various acquaintances of his forward from the audience, and was handing each a small envelope. There was a look of general perplexity throughout the audience during the strange proceedings, but their confusion immediately turned to horror as the man behind the podium retrieved a manilla envelope from his desk, and from the envelope he withdrew a fully loaded .357 magnum with a 6.5 inch barrel. There was a resounding chorus of, “No, Budd no!”, and several curses as a few of the cameramen dove to the floor. The man with the gun tried in vain to calm the panic stricken crowd by waving his free hand around in placating manner and repeatedly saying, “No.” After only a few seconds the room quieted and the man said, “Please leave the room if this will offend you.” He then said, “Please stay back, this will hurt someone.”, and without any further hesitation he placed the gun into his mouth and pulled the trigger. There was a hollow “pop”, no louder than a Fourth of July firecracker as the mans body slumped to the floor. At first, the only signs that he had been shot were the little wisps of gray hair that had suddenly just stood up as if of their own volition. His eyes were staring blankly into space as if he were daydreaming, and then all at once his whole body seemed to relax and blood and viscera began to gush from his shredded sinus cavities. The most disturbing part however was his eyes. When his body finally succumbed to death, his eyes that were once filled with an inexplicable light, all at once dimmed and turned cold like someone snuffed out a candle that was his soul. His empty dead eyes will haunt me for the rest of my days. The mans name was Budd Dwyer. He was the state Treasurer for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,and had been indicted, and then found guilty, on charges of bribery, fraud, conspiracy, and racketeering. Upon investigation it can be plainly seen that the main reasons for his public suicide were the terms of his conviction coupled with his feelings of helplessness and his desire for vindication.

Dwyer was accused of taking a $300,000 bribe from a California based firm known as Computer Technology. According to two employees of the firm, the bribe was offered to Dwyer in order secure a government contract by insuring that Dwyer would take no other bids for the job. On December 18, 1986 Budd Dwyer was convicted on all charges by one Judge Muir. Judge Muir imposed the maximum penalties for these crimes in order to make an example of Dwyer and deter political corruption. Dwyer was sentenced to 55 years in prison, which to a 47 year old man amounts to a long slow death sentence, and a $300,000 fine. When questioned about the severity of the penalties, Judge Muir said he, “felt invigorated”, by the sentencing. With the harsh reality of these, “medieval sentences”, came crashing down on Budd Dwyer and his family exactly one week before Christmas, it was no wonder that Dwyer succumbed to feelings of helplessness and despair in the face of his situation.

Despite all adversity Dwyer always maintained his innocence, which only served to worsen his feelings of helplessness and deepen his depression. Budd also maintained that he was a victim of political persecution at the hands of ex Pennsylvania Governor Thornburgh. Dwyer had exposed Thornburgh for abuse of travel expense, and a feud between the two ensued. The FBI investigation that led to Dwyers conviction was in fact instigated by Thornburgh himself, which in and of itself fairly reeks of corruption. Dwyer was clearly a victim of dirty politics, and some even called him a modern day Job. Budd, having been backed into a corner, his thoughts turned swiftly toward vindication of himself and his family.

After over a month of appeals to news groups such as 60 Minutes and 20/20, and activist such as the Civil Liberties Union and Jack Anderson, Budd finally gave up. No one would listen to what he had to say, some even laughed at him. Dwyers last recourse was vindication, and a ghastly one at that. On January need 1987, the day before his sentencing, whereupon he would also be removed from office, he appeared at the state capitol one last time, before an unsuspecting gathering of staff, friends, reporters and cameras for a “status update” that really amounted to a suicide note, personally recited over the public airwaves.

Just before Budd Dwyer untimely demise he was quoted as saying, “…my prison would simply be an American Gulag…”, and I for one cannot disagree. Budd believed all his life that America was the “world’s greatest democracy”, yet in the end it was a country whose judicial system had let him down. During the fatal press conference Dwyer handed out three envelopes. One envelope contained his funeral arrangements, another his organ donor card, and in the last was a letter addressed to newly appointed Governor of Pennsylvania Robert P. Casey. In this letter Mr. Dwyer wrote, “By the time you receive this letter, the office of State Treasurer of Pennsylvania will be vacant. I stress to you that I did not resign but was State Treasurer of Pennsylvania to the end.”