Email From Laura Skinner's Killer This is an email released from Bruce Lower, convicted of raping and killing 3 year old Laura Skinner in 1987. Bruce Lower was the boyfriend of Laura's mother. He was released from prison in 2003 and now a free man. Please visit www.rememberinglaura.com for more on this story.
Mr. Vinocur,
Where was your generous offer to speak in September of 2004, when you first started your personal campaign against me with the article in the dispatch, and my brother contacted you and requested a face to face? As for contacting the media, I and my family have, every time you insist on making my life a public arena.
You want my side of it? Okay, did I hurt Laura, did I kill her? Yes, and that is something I will live with for the rest of my life, which I am sure is longer than any of you want. You are entitled to that feeling. NO, you SHOULD have that feeling. But, I know for a fact that you are accessing data in my case that is not public knowledge, and making it so. Also, you have enough contacts to know that what was said in the Dispatch was note even close to the truth. When I was arrested in 1987, the ONLY place any sort of sexual assault was alleged was in the original warrants for arrest, which yes, were for rape, and claimed the presence of semen. As I am SURE you are aware, at my predator hearing in 1998, the arresting officer admitted, under oath, that they had lied about that, and that a complete rape assessment had been done of Laura, and there was no such evidence. Nowhere in the autopsy, medical report, or anywhere other than an inaccurate PSI is there any allegation of sexual assault.
The only evidence entered at my predator hearing was the testimony of a "jailhouse snitch"; a man who had had 7 previous convictions for theft by deception and fraud, and was facing his 8th. SOLELY on that evidence, and the emotional horror of the case, did His Honor Danial Hogan label me a predator, in complete violation of the existing law, case precedent, and the statute itself. But, because of men like you who feed the public misinformation, it is impossible to right this kind of wrong, because it is not politically expedient to stand up for scum such as me.
Yes, I accuse you of misinformation, because you make the most glaringly inaccurate statements. You asked in your interview with channel 10 news, who has more of a chance to re-offend than a sex offender? Well, the fact is, just about EVERY other crime, except for my own, homicide of a family victim. Don't take my word for it, read the stats yourself
http://www.drc.state.oh.us/web/sexrecid.pd...er%20Study'.
Mr. Vinocur, what galls me is that you really didn't know Laura, and are simply making a name for yourself on her memory. I in no way deny the horror of what I did to her. It was horrible enough without the yellow journalism and outright lies, and no one, not even Laura's own mother, has shed more tears over what has happened as my family and I have. Will the nearly 20 years I was under the auspice of the DRC change that? No. Was it enough? Well, under the current law, for the same crime I would have been off parole about 5 years ago. The most important question is, am I threat to society? No, I don't want to be. I could never hurt a child again, but as people like you make it impossible for people like me and my family to ever have a normal life again, as you force men like me further into the shadows on the outskirts of normal society, just what do you expect to happen?
And, yes, I called you a liar, and stand by it. Just as you can get information, so can I. I know that you stood before the parole board at another man's hearing and accused him of being involved with the Lucasville riots--even though he had never even served time in Lucasville. I know what they say about you down at the SORN department at Franklin Co. sheriffs office, and what the AG has to say about you. Do you really want to help? Quit pandering fear and catering to public opinion. Put the truth out there. The only way we are going to stop the kind of crimes you fear is through knowledge and prevention. Megan's Law, though passed with good intent, does nothing to protect, only to cause fear and vigilantism. Because of this fear, Ohio has a completely unconstitutional law, that no attorney in the state is willing to take on, and it just keeps getting worse and worse. I should not be surprised that you are in marketing; you obviously have a grasp on how to manipulate people's emotions. My degree, on the other hand, is in clinical psychology, and I would rather combat this problem at its roots.
Again, and I can't emphasize this strongly enough, I DO accept full responsibility for Laura's death and suffering. You have absolutely no idea the affect this has had on my family and me. It is a suffering that will go on forever. But, trying to make it impossible for me or others like me to ever have a normal life is not going to undo Laura's suffering, it is not going to stop any others from suffering, and may in fact exacerbate the problem. Do I say there should be sympathy for men in this situation? No. We are not the victims. But, even the proposed life without parole or civil commitment is not going to stop this kind of tragedy.
I know this is a far longer and rambling interaction than you had probably hoped for. It is two decades of pent up emotion coming out. You have my full permission to post this wherever you like, and I realize that you cannot post something this length yin full, but for a change, do not edit for emotional impact. You said you wanted my side, then tell my side. I am of two minds about you. Part of me sees what you are doing and thinks you are just trying to become the next John Walsh, spring-boarding yourself into the public eye on the tragedy of Laura's death. Another part of me wants to really believe that you have a concern, and want to make a difference in this kind of thing. If so, talk to me, to my family, to my therapist. A question that even the attorneys we have talked to is echoed by my family; what made you chose my and Laura's story? There is no denying it is horrible, but there are far worse out there. Trust me, after 17 years with those kinds of folks, I know what true horror is.
There is no real way for me to draw this rambling to a close, except to say, you now have, SOME, of my side of this. You have a contact now, but If you make my email public information, I will simply delete the account, and you will not hear from me again. Honestly, I would like to be part of a solution, but not some pandering, grandstanding solution; an honest solution. Good day to you.
Bruce A. Lower
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