Larry Flynt doesn't want man who shot him executed


Save Story
Leer en espaƱol

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Porn publisher Larry Flynt says he doesn't want to see the serial killer whose gunshots left him paralyzed 35 years ago put to death for his crimes.

In an essay published Thursday in The Hollywood Reporter ( http://bit.ly/1cxjSA8), Flynt says that while he would love to take pliers and a pair of wire cutters to Joseph Paul Franklin, he does not believe in the death penalty.

Franklin has been in prison since 1980 for a string of shootings that left five people dead and others wounded. He is scheduled to be executed Nov. 20 in Missouri.

"I have every reason to be overjoyed with that decision, but I am anything but," writes Flynt, who has been paralyzed from the waist down since he was shot in 1978 on the steps of a Georgia courthouse. He was there to fight pornography charges.

The Hustler magazine publisher said he doesn't believe capital punishment is a deterrent to crime. He wrote that when pickpockets were executed in 18th century England, people who turned out to watch the public hangings often had their pockets picked.

"That's a true story, and, if you're ever trying to convince somebody of why the death penalty is not a deterrent, that's a good example," Flynt wrote.

He added he believes keeping Franklin incarcerated in a tiny prison cell is a harsher punishment.

After he was convicted of his fifth murder, Franklin asked to be sentenced to death. He has been on death row for 15 years.

Franklin, who said his hatred of blacks and Jews sent him on his killing spree, was never tried for the attack on Flynt but admitted it.

Franklin said he targeted the publisher because his magazine displayed a photo spread featuring a black man with a white woman.

His first two murder victims were black men jogging with white women. The next two were an interracial couple. The last was a man he saw outside a synagogue.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Most recent Entertainment stories

STAY IN THE KNOW

Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

KSL Weather Forecast