Budd Dwyer

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For other persons of the same name, see Robert Dwyer.
Budd Dwyer

R. Budd Dwyer seconds before his suicide.
Photo credit: Gary Miller/The Associated Press
Born November 21, 1939 (1939-11-21)
Saint Charles, Missouri
Died January 22, 1987 (aged 47)
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Occupation Treasurer of Pennsylvania
Political party Republican
Spouse Joanne Dwyer

Robert "Budd" Dwyer (November 21, 1939 – January 22, 1987) was an American politician who, on the morning of January 22, 1987, committed suicide by shooting himself in the mouth with a revolver during a televised press conference.

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[edit] Career

Budd Dwyer graduated from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania. He went on to get his master's degree in education and taught social studies and coached football at Cambridge Springs High School. As a Republican, Dwyer served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1965 to 1970 and the Pennsylvania Senate from 1970 to 1980. After his tenure as a senator, Dwyer moved on to the treasurer's office, a position he held up to his death.

[edit] Controversy and guilty verdict

During the early 1980s, state employees overpaid millions of dollars in Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes. As a result, the commonwealth began accepting bids from companies to calculate the amount of the refund each employee was due.

One firm, the California-based Computer Technology Associates, was owned by a Harrisburg native named John Torquato, Jr., who used his area connections and a series of bribes to obtain the contract, worth a reputed US $4.6 million. An anonymous memo reached the office of Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornburgh informing him of what had happened.

In late 1986, Budd Dwyer was charged with agreeing to receive a kickback of $300,000. A plea bargain was made for Torquato and Dauphin County Republican Party Chairman William Smith (who was also Torquato's attorney), as well as Smith's wife, which required them to testify against Dwyer. This, coupled with the government's refusal to name unindicted co-conspirators in the case, made it difficult for Dwyer to defend himself, though the unindicted co-conspirators are believed to have been staff members of the Dauphin County Republican Party. During this time, the district's United States Attorney offered Dwyer a plea bargain that carried a maximum of five years in prison in exchange for a guilty plea on one count of accepting a bribe, resignation, and cooperation in the investigation. [1] Dwyer refused the offer, and was later found guilty but continued to profess his innocence vehemently, as did others who were close to him.[2] Under state law, Dwyer could continue to serve as state treasurer until his sentencing. The maximum sentence Dwyer was facing was 55 years imprisonment and a $300,000 fine. However, his co-defendant, former state Republican Party chairman Robert Asher, was given a year in jail. Asher later returned to politics, and served as a Republican National Committeeman for Pennsylvania.

[edit] Public suicide

On January 22, 1987, the day before his sentencing, Dwyer called a press conference to "provide an update on the situation." Many expected Dwyer to announce his resignation from office.

At the conference, an agitated and nervous Dwyer once again professed his innocence, and declared that he would not resign as state treasurer. Those attending would hear his final words:[3]

I thank the good Lord for giving me 47 years of exciting challenges, stimulating experiences, many happy occasions, and, most of all, the finest wife and children any man could ever desire. Now my life has changed, for no apparent reason. People who call and write are exasperated and feel helpless. They know I'm innocent and want to help. But in this nation, the world's greatest democracy, there is nothing they can do to prevent me from being punished for a crime they know I did not commit. Some who have called have said that I am a modern day Job. Judge [Malcolm] Muir is also noted for his medieval sentences. I face a maximum sentence of 55 years in prison and a $300,000 fine for being innocent. Judge Muir has already told the press that he, quote, "felt invigorated" when we were found guilty, and that he plans to imprison me as a deterrent to other public officials. But it wouldn't be a deterrent because every public official who knows me knows that I am innocent; it wouldn't be a legitimate punishment because I've done nothing wrong. Since I'm a victim of political persecution, my prison would simply be an American gulag. I ask those that believe in me to continue to extend friendship and prayer to my family, to work untiringly for the creation of a true justice system here in the United States, and to press on with the efforts to vindicate me, so that my family and their future families are not tainted by this injustice that has been perpetrated on me.

At this point, Dwyer stopped with his prepared text and called to three of his staffers, giving each an envelope. One of the envelopes contained a suicide note to his wife. The second contained an organ donor card and other related materials. The third contained a letter to Robert P. Casey, who had taken office only two days before.

After handing out the envelopes, Dwyer opened a manila envelope and withdrew a .357 Magnum revolver, advising those in the crowd, "Please leave the room if this will offend you." Those in attendance cried out to Dwyer, pleading with him to put the gun down ("Budd, don't do this!" and "Budd, listen to me!" were heard on television). Some tried to approach him. "Don't, don't, don't, this will hurt someone," he warned.[4] Amid the cry of "Budd, Budd, Budd!" Dwyer put the gun barrel into his mouth and pulled the trigger. He collapsed against a wall in a sitting position, blood pouring from his nose, all in front of five television news cameras while the people are screaming and using profanity in shock. Dwyer was declared dead at the scene at 11:31 a.m. EST.[4]

Dwyer is buried in Blooming Valley Cemetery in Blooming Valley, Pennsylvania.

[edit] Aftermath

A number of television stations throughout Pennsylvania aired taped footage of Dwyer's suicide before a mid-day audience. Due to a major snowstorm throughout Pennsylvania that day, many schools were closed and many school-aged children bore witness to the suicide. Over the next several hours, however, news editors had to decide whether to air the graphic images or to edit the footage for evening news telecasts. Dwyer's case has become a favorite of a number of journalism professors to demonstrate that news editors (especially in the medium of television) must be prepared to make instant decisions, weighing the psychological impact on viewers against their business sense of beating other media outlets to the story.[5]

In the end, many stations, including WCAU, aired the footage up to a point just prior to the shooting. Others, including Pennsylvania's Group W stations KYW and KDKA, froze the action just prior to the trigger's being pulled. KDKA-TV and KYW-TV both chose this approach, and allowed the audio of the shooting to continue under the frozen image. Group W's news cameraman William L. "Bill" Martin and reporter David Sollenberger—based out of the Harrisburg state capitol's Correspondents Room—had a camera set up at the news conference and chose not to air the actual footage, choosing instead to air the audio with a freeze frame of the gun in Dwyer's mouth. Only a handful aired the entire press conference unedited. WPVI in Philadelphia was one station that chose to re-broadcast the suicide footage in full on their 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Action News broadcasts without warning to viewers. That station's broadcast is a source for copies circulating on the Internet. WPXI in Pittsburgh is reported by the Associated Press to have broadcast the footage uncensored on an early newscast and did in fact broadcast the footage. In explaining the decision to air, WPXI news operations manager By Williams said, "It's an important event" about an "important man." Williams opted not to air the footage in the evening newscasts, explaining, "Everyone knows by then that he did it. There are children out of school."[6]

The broadcast of the shooting became a topic for educators in Pennsylvania classrooms and led to questioning the wisdom of airing live news broadcasts in public school settings. This issue was also faced during the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger, which was shown live in many classrooms since Christa McAuliffe was to be the first teacher in outer space.

Children, however, responded to the event by creating a cycle of black comedy jokes similar to those that circulated after the Challenger disaster. Of these, the most popular was "What did Budd Dwyer's wife tell him the morning of the press conference? Don't go shooting your mouth off in public." A study of the incidence of these jokes showed that they were told only in areas of Pennsylvania where uncensored footage of the press conference had been shown by networks. [7]

The suicide also changed Associated Press photo practices. At the time, the AP had its photographers shoot most photos in black and white, since the film was cheaper and the photos took less time to transmit. Also, most newspapers still had black-and-white front pages at the time. Color film would be issued only to photographers expected to be getting the top photos for national news that day. Since this news conference was expected to be of little interest outside Pennsylvania, black-and-white film was used. Once it turned into a major worldwide story, the AP got requests for color photos. After that, the AP promptly switched to taking all photos in color. Most of the photos were still transmitted in black and white until the transmission technology improved to a point when color photos did not cause delays.[citation needed]

Since Dwyer died in office before being removed upon sentencing, his widow, Joanne, was able to collect full survivor benefits totaling over $1.28 million. A spokesman for Dwyer, immediately after the suicide, suggested Dwyer may have killed himself to retain the state-provided pension for his household, which had been ruined by legal defense costs.[8]

Dwyer's legal struggles may have ended with his death, yet a fascination with his suicide goes on to this day. Copies of the footage continue to circulate via the Internet and have appeared in various films, including the Traces of Death series and Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine.

In 2003, work started on "Honest Man", a feature length documentary about Budd and the CTA scandal. Slated for a 2007 release the film includes interviews with William Smith, the Dwyer family (Robert Dwyer, Joanne Dwyer and Dyan Dwyer), Barry O'Connell, as well as former colleagues and friends. Also authors Lorraine Yuhasz and William Keisling have contributed their expert knowledge of the CTA scandal to the project.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Dwyer Sought Presidential Pardon, Rejected Plea Bargaining", Associated Press, January 24, 1987.
  2. ^ Lucas, Dean. Famous Pictures Magazine - Budd Dwyer.
  3. ^ Video containing audio of final words (link)
  4. ^ a b "PA. Treasurer Kills Self at News Conference", Associated Press, January 23, 1987.
  5. ^ Soteropolous, Jacqueline. Feeling the Heat. American Journalism Review, December, 2000. Accessed online 11 February 2006.
  6. ^ Associated Press. "Pictures Raise News Issue", New York Times, 1987-01-23. Retrieved on 2008-05-25. 
  7. ^ Simon Bronner, "Political Suicide: The Budd Dwyer Joke Cycle and the Humor of Disaster." Midwestern Folklore 14 (1988): 81-89.
  8. ^ "Pennsylvania Official's Suicide May Be Linked to Finances", Washington Post, January 24, 1987.

[edit] External links

Persondata
NAME Dwyer, Robert Budd
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH November 21, 1939
PLACE OF BIRTH St. Charles, Missouri
DATE OF DEATH January 22, 1987
PLACE OF DEATH