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PORN+CANNIBALISTIC REALITY
A jury found a man guilty of first-degree murder Friday in the killing of a 10-year-old girl, reaching its decision within minutes the day after hearing his macabre videotaped confession.
Kevin Underwood, a former grocery stocker who claimed Internet pornography stoked his cannibalistic fantasies, showed no emotion as the verdict was announced. Family members of the victim, Jamie Rose Bolin, patted each other and shook hands.
The girl's body was found in a plastic tub in Underwood's apartment in April 2006. Jurors had heard his detailed videotaped confession in court Thursday.
Judge Candace Blalock told jurors to return to court Monday morning for the penalty phase. Prosecutors have said they intend to seek the death penalty, while the defense has said it will seek to spare his life.
Deputies led Underwood, 28, away in handcuffs once jurors had left the courtroom.
Rose Fox, Jamie's grandmother, said after the verdict that she was originally against the death penalty in the case, but has now changed her mind.
"He made his choice," Fox said. "He's a monster in human form."
"I was for mercy. And then when I found out what he really did to her ... . He showed her no mercy."
Jurors began deliberating following closing arguments in which Cleveland County District Attorney Greg Mashburn predicted it would take jurors longer to pick a foreman than to determine guilt.
"It's the worst of the worst," Mashburn said. "His plan is to butcher someone like an animal."
In his closing argument, Defense attorney Matthew Haire did not dispute Underwood's guilt. But he called him "a lonely, very troubled, reclusive young man" and accused prosecutors of overwhelming jurors with gruesome evidence.
In the confession, Underwood said he lured the girl, his upstairs neighbor, into his apartment in Purcell, hit her with a cutting board, smothered her with his hands, sexually assaulted the body and nearly cut her head off as part of a fantasy involving cannibalism.
"I wanted to know what it tasted like, and just the thought of eating someone was appealing to me," Underwood said in the confession.
Underwood also said such fantasies began about the time he started taking the antidepressant Lexapro. Defense attorneys plan to call witnesses during the penalty phase on his use of the drug.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,333929,00.html
Krissee Danger wrote on March 11th 08 at 09:31PM
Awful.
Garrett Rathke wrote on March 11th 08 at 09:51PM
Ecclesiastes 9:3 "...truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead."
madness is in their hearts...for sure. what's scary and sad though, is that that same madness that drove that man to cut a ten year old girl's head off is in me too. it's called sin. for me, it shows itself in the form of porn and self exultation (pride).
Romans 7:24-25 "Oh wretched man that i am! who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God-through Jesus Christ our Lord!..."
that's it. Jesus is the only way out of this kind of madness. thank you Jesus.
madness is in their hearts...for sure. what's scary and sad though, is that that same madness that drove that man to cut a ten year old girl's head off is in me too. it's called sin. for me, it shows itself in the form of porn and self exultation (pride).
Romans 7:24-25 "Oh wretched man that i am! who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God-through Jesus Christ our Lord!..."
that's it. Jesus is the only way out of this kind of madness. thank you Jesus.
Jonathan Millard wrote on March 11th 08 at 10:26PM
What scares me is thinking that I might be capable of such a terrible act. They call him a monster but he is not. He is a fallen man, a sinner who lost his way, lost all sense of reason. Such a fine line between insanity and sanity... May God work in his soul as he did with Ted Bundy before his execution.
Rex Yetter wrote on March 11th 08 at 10:34PM
I think this is the worst of the worst of crimes, and I believe in old justice and I truly think that he should be hung in public to show the world what happens when you take a innocent life.
goldie hayes wrote on March 11th 08 at 11:09PM
it's hard for me as a woman, and a mother to even begin... reading this was extremely painful for me, living it, for her family, had to be excruciatingly so.
I have children and grandchildren also. And yet, I also find it, at times, just as easy to sin. I lied on the phone yesterday. Even that is showing a lack of faith in Jesus.
God only knows how the pharmacy industry is experimenting on people. And we all know that 'the love of money,' which is the root of 'all,' or 'all kinds' of evil, is behind pornography, abortion, white slavory (the buying and selling of others for sex), the drug and alcohol industry, both legal and illegal... even the guy who began playboy stated that he wanted to get rich fast, and he knew that porn was a sure way to do so.
I also had problems with porn, so bad that I finally tried to kill myself at the age of 15, because I felt filthy, unloved, and unlovable; even totally unworthy of being loved by anyone at all. I tortured myself and had crazy dreams and fantasies, usually about something that would have most likely been horrible and painful. I even went so far as to get into cars with strangers. Men who I'd never met, and went off with them to their houses.
I used sex to manipulate the men I was attracted to, and was used by those who I allowed to do so.
I know that God protected me, in my utter stupidity, even while I knew that what I was doing was driving me further and further from God.
I never allowed myself to love anyone who I thought might love me, while always seeking relationships with men who I knew or believed didn't, and those who totally disrespected me. (that's been the hardest thing to overcome, even now getting there).
I hate porn now, and I hate what it does to people. I was at a church meeting once, for men, and when they began to speak about porn, it was totally directed at the men. I stood up and told them that women can also have problems with porn, and that I began looking at porn as young as 10 years old. We need to protect our children better. And now!
It is so horrible that anyone could do such a thing, but it is also horrible that this young man ever was put into a possition to become such away.
Father, have mercy on us all. Especially on we who could have mattered in this life and did not.
And whether he lives or dies, Father, please find away to reach his heart, that his everlasting soul might be saved. amen.
I have children and grandchildren also. And yet, I also find it, at times, just as easy to sin. I lied on the phone yesterday. Even that is showing a lack of faith in Jesus.
God only knows how the pharmacy industry is experimenting on people. And we all know that 'the love of money,' which is the root of 'all,' or 'all kinds' of evil, is behind pornography, abortion, white slavory (the buying and selling of others for sex), the drug and alcohol industry, both legal and illegal... even the guy who began playboy stated that he wanted to get rich fast, and he knew that porn was a sure way to do so.
I also had problems with porn, so bad that I finally tried to kill myself at the age of 15, because I felt filthy, unloved, and unlovable; even totally unworthy of being loved by anyone at all. I tortured myself and had crazy dreams and fantasies, usually about something that would have most likely been horrible and painful. I even went so far as to get into cars with strangers. Men who I'd never met, and went off with them to their houses.
I used sex to manipulate the men I was attracted to, and was used by those who I allowed to do so.
I know that God protected me, in my utter stupidity, even while I knew that what I was doing was driving me further and further from God.
I never allowed myself to love anyone who I thought might love me, while always seeking relationships with men who I knew or believed didn't, and those who totally disrespected me. (that's been the hardest thing to overcome, even now getting there).
I hate porn now, and I hate what it does to people. I was at a church meeting once, for men, and when they began to speak about porn, it was totally directed at the men. I stood up and told them that women can also have problems with porn, and that I began looking at porn as young as 10 years old. We need to protect our children better. And now!
It is so horrible that anyone could do such a thing, but it is also horrible that this young man ever was put into a possition to become such away.
Father, have mercy on us all. Especially on we who could have mattered in this life and did not.
And whether he lives or dies, Father, please find away to reach his heart, that his everlasting soul might be saved. amen.
miguel wrote on March 12th 08 at 08:29AM
i cannot comprehend how anyone would be capable of doing that to a little girl. i am truly saddened and disgusted by the current state of man.
may justice be served.
may justice be served.
superhands wrote on March 12th 08 at 08:58AM
Truly horrendous and I hope justice is served...I'm not sure public hanging does a lot to help people appreciate the sanctity of human life though.
David wrote on March 12th 08 at 09:08AM
As a dad of 5 kids, my heart was crushed when I read this story.
I can't speak for everyone else, but when I read articles like these, I experience several different emotions. I feel angry, sad, discouraged at the world, sympathetic, angry, disappointed, angry.
At first, I questioned why XXX would publish the details....that is, until I read the responses. GOLDIE, I am so encouraged by your willingness to be open enough to share your scars.
This young man, ultimately, is not the enemy. I certainly hope he finds Jesus. The same Jesus that will comfort those affected by this tragedy.
My heart is heavy, but God is bigger!
I can't speak for everyone else, but when I read articles like these, I experience several different emotions. I feel angry, sad, discouraged at the world, sympathetic, angry, disappointed, angry.
At first, I questioned why XXX would publish the details....that is, until I read the responses. GOLDIE, I am so encouraged by your willingness to be open enough to share your scars.
This young man, ultimately, is not the enemy. I certainly hope he finds Jesus. The same Jesus that will comfort those affected by this tragedy.
My heart is heavy, but God is bigger!
Ray Deck III wrote on March 12th 08 at 09:26AM
Sometimes, simple truth communicates the most. The consequences of sin are what we never see.
I write at:
www.ministrytools.wordpress.com
www.thepreachingthespian.wordpress.com
I write at:
www.ministrytools.wordpress.com
www.thepreachingthespian.wordpress.com
Ian wrote on March 12th 08 at 09:28AM
I really hope and pray that his life is spared.
brian wrote on March 12th 08 at 03:01PM
i have a 9 year old girl...this is a heart-breaking reality in this world of ours. he should be punished severely, no doubt.
i also have to remember the thief on the cross...there's always hope. let God call the shots.
i also have to remember the thief on the cross...there's always hope. let God call the shots.
Eric wrote on March 12th 08 at 06:07PM
Some sins catch up to us while we are still alive, some will only be revealed on our day of judgement. This man is not much older than I am, I can't imagine the horrors that drove him to do this, nor can I comprehend the pain it has caused the families and friends of the girl.
I pray the Holy Spirit works healing into the lives of those involved in this tragedy.
I pray the Holy Spirit works healing into the lives of those involved in this tragedy.
Garrett wrote on March 12th 08 at 08:39PM
I'd like to say that no one is capable of such unspeakable atrocities. The scary thing is we are all capable of these. Just as the Holy Spirit enables us to do even greater works than what Jesus did (John 14:12) there are spirits out there that when invited into our lives through sin make us capable of things worse than human eyes have yet to see.
It's so important that we seek God's truth, study His word, humble ourselves before Him in worship, confess our sins to one another and hold each other accountable.
It's so important that we seek God's truth, study His word, humble ourselves before Him in worship, confess our sins to one another and hold each other accountable.
thomas wrote on March 13th 08 at 02:41PM
it is hypocritical to say that 1) we are saddened by the corruption this man has shown humankind to be capable of, but 2) we want him dead because of his actions and decisions.
capital punishment does not pay a debt. it kills the debtor.
capital punishment does not pay a debt. it kills the debtor.
Mike wrote on March 13th 08 at 10:17PM
Not that this has anything to do with this story but XXXChurch was mentioned in a CNN article.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/03/
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/03/
wayne wrote on March 13th 08 at 11:46PM
read the poems
how strange it seems in my mind
that you'd even consider me
to take a stand in your name
that all lost souls may see
***
who am I, but a sinful man
whose head hangs low with shame
that you would use one as me
to proclaim your mighty name
***
You've shut the door of my ugly past
that I no more could face
and brought me here in front of these
to proclaim Your saving grace
***
for me to sharew with all the world
the guilt of all my sin
to let them know that You "forgive"
and that "all" shall be invited in
***
for all my sin I carried so heavy
for years upon my heart
but the only sin that really "mattered"
was for me keeping you apart
***
I cry to you Lord of all
to give me the strength to say
whatever the sin that weighs you down
Jesus loves you anyway
***
to come to Him as a little child
and believe upon the cross
He'll "forgive" you of your sinful past
and make up for all you've lost
***
I call to you as of today
Oh!! mighty Lord on high
To be a leader among your people
and follow you untill I die
***
for you said do not be ashamed
and no longer be disgraced
do not remember the sins of your youth
just set your heart upon my face
***
so we must follow and obey
and be so obedient to yo
for You first loved me, and then I you
for your love is forever,so pure and so true
amen........wb
"Casting Stones" (John 8:1-12)
let him cast the very first stone
if in your life no sin has ever shone
if so pure and with out a doubt
cast out that sinner, and send him out
***
throw that stone with all your might
for to do so you had better be right
where are you, our Lord shall ask
no, not one could ever perform this task
***
forgive me Lord of my Pharisee heart
sometimes I forget where I got my start
who am I, lest I forget
is complete in You, who paid all debt
***
let me forgive those who have done me wrong
let me trust in you to make me strong
for You died for me, and for them
that we all may be delivered from our sin
***
let them see You, in my life so true
let them see You, in all that I do
let me love them as You have always
not to reject them this I do pray
***
so I realize that I could never pick up that stone
for if I would, I'd have to stand alone
for only You were completly free from all sin
and we can turn to You again, and again
Thank You Jesus..........wb
I pray for this man and I pray for the little girls family.
how strange it seems in my mind
that you'd even consider me
to take a stand in your name
that all lost souls may see
***
who am I, but a sinful man
whose head hangs low with shame
that you would use one as me
to proclaim your mighty name
***
You've shut the door of my ugly past
that I no more could face
and brought me here in front of these
to proclaim Your saving grace
***
for me to sharew with all the world
the guilt of all my sin
to let them know that You "forgive"
and that "all" shall be invited in
***
for all my sin I carried so heavy
for years upon my heart
but the only sin that really "mattered"
was for me keeping you apart
***
I cry to you Lord of all
to give me the strength to say
whatever the sin that weighs you down
Jesus loves you anyway
***
to come to Him as a little child
and believe upon the cross
He'll "forgive" you of your sinful past
and make up for all you've lost
***
I call to you as of today
Oh!! mighty Lord on high
To be a leader among your people
and follow you untill I die
***
for you said do not be ashamed
and no longer be disgraced
do not remember the sins of your youth
just set your heart upon my face
***
so we must follow and obey
and be so obedient to yo
for You first loved me, and then I you
for your love is forever,so pure and so true
amen........wb
"Casting Stones" (John 8:1-12)
let him cast the very first stone
if in your life no sin has ever shone
if so pure and with out a doubt
cast out that sinner, and send him out
***
throw that stone with all your might
for to do so you had better be right
where are you, our Lord shall ask
no, not one could ever perform this task
***
forgive me Lord of my Pharisee heart
sometimes I forget where I got my start
who am I, lest I forget
is complete in You, who paid all debt
***
let me forgive those who have done me wrong
let me trust in you to make me strong
for You died for me, and for them
that we all may be delivered from our sin
***
let them see You, in my life so true
let them see You, in all that I do
let me love them as You have always
not to reject them this I do pray
***
so I realize that I could never pick up that stone
for if I would, I'd have to stand alone
for only You were completly free from all sin
and we can turn to You again, and again
Thank You Jesus..........wb
I pray for this man and I pray for the little girls family.
David wrote on March 14th 08 at 11:04AM
Fortunately, this is not representative of the typical end of the road behavior of the average porn consumer. I think there are a few psychopaths whose porn use feeds into disgusting morbid fantasies and ultimately results in actual acting out behavior with real victims but I think this is rare. Ted Bundy also considered porn to be a catalyst for his sexually motivated serial killing activities. It is a chicken or the egg kind of thing. Did the porn create the fantasy or did it feed an already existing fantasy? Would they have acted out the same behaviors with or without the porn? We don't know but my guess is that they would have done it anyway. It is not surprising that someone who has these types of fantasings to begin with would be arroused by porn that feeds into such fantasies but it is difficult to prove that porn caused the real life behavior. As disgusting as that kind of porn is, I don't think most consumers of such are unable to distinguish between fantasy and what is appropriate to do in real life. Nevertheless, the story is very disturbing and so is that kind of porn.
Soldiers Arise Ministries wrote on March 15th 08 at 10:32AM
I agree with the main thing I'm seeing in these comments. That no he's not a monster, he's a fallen, sinful man in need of a Savior.
My name is Joshua Stoneburner. I'm 25 years old and have been battling pornography and self pleasure for over 15 years now. Thanks to X3Watch my use of internet pornography is fading drastically, but then there's still my mind. I just wanted to give a little background myself. The thing this guy needs to do (as we all do each and every day) is pray for God to renew our minds (Romans 12:2). I love music and it has been a massive idol for me in the past. Psalms 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." The desire of my heart is music, and God has given me an Evangelistic Music Ministry.
I just want to say that With God all things possible. And this man can repent and turn around like Ted Bundy did. Pray for him lift him up. He needs that a lot more than he needs your cutting remarks. 2 Thess. 5:17 says, "Pray Continually." We need to be the example for those reading this blog. God Bless everybody.
In Him,
Joshua
My name is Joshua Stoneburner. I'm 25 years old and have been battling pornography and self pleasure for over 15 years now. Thanks to X3Watch my use of internet pornography is fading drastically, but then there's still my mind. I just wanted to give a little background myself. The thing this guy needs to do (as we all do each and every day) is pray for God to renew our minds (Romans 12:2). I love music and it has been a massive idol for me in the past. Psalms 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." The desire of my heart is music, and God has given me an Evangelistic Music Ministry.
I just want to say that With God all things possible. And this man can repent and turn around like Ted Bundy did. Pray for him lift him up. He needs that a lot more than he needs your cutting remarks. 2 Thess. 5:17 says, "Pray Continually." We need to be the example for those reading this blog. God Bless everybody.
In Him,
Joshua
Venchenza wrote on March 16th 08 at 10:52PM
This is beyond .... wow!
jim wrote on March 20th 08 at 08:09AM
This crime had nothing to do with porn. A normal person cannot be persuaded to commit such a crime. It takes enourmous effort to train a normal person to kill in war as part of the military, viewing porn does not have the ability to turn a person into a murderer. This person is a pyschopath or sociopath or possibly both. His brain does not work like other people's. You can debate whether he is "sick" and the brain function problem is inherited or a defect; or you can argue it was created by his environment; but to conclude such behavior is the result of seeing pictures is just silly. I'm a lawyer. Of course, he blamed his crime on something, like porn. Just has others have blamed their behavior on drinking, eating too many twinkies, bad childhoods, etc., this is just a way to try and explain the unexplainable to the jury and give the jury an excuse so that the jury might feel sympathy and give him a break. Didn't work here, usually doesn't. jim
GraphicArtist2k5 wrote on August 6th 08 at 02:41PM
Regardless of who says that this wasn't motivated by the person who did this viewing porn, or whatever else, porn is a seed that gives place to FAR greater evil than you or I can begin to understand with our human minds. God's Word does say that sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death, so what is so surprising that the person who committed this atrocity was most likely involved in porn? Porn is just a catalyst for greater sins, and if we allow porn to rule over us, that's what we are capable of doing.
