The state filed suit Tuesday against its most notorious prisoner, John Wayne Gacy, in an attempt to recover funds it spent on keeping the mass murderer on Death Row the last 11 years, and to prevent him from profiting from the sale of his artwork.
The suit, which seeks more than $141,000, was filed a day after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Gacy’s latest appeal of his 1980 conviction.
Prompting the state’s suit were solicitations mailed out by a small Missouri firm advertising the sale of artwork Gacy has painted on Death Row at the Menard Correctional Center in Chester.
In the suit, filed in Randolph County in far southwestern Illinois, state officials allege the murderer of 33 young men and boys is “reasonably able to pay” for his incarceration.
“We don’t know if he has $141,000, but the filing of this action will allow us to try to get an answer,” said Ernie Slottag, a spokesman for Atty. Gen. Roland Burris. “We don’t know if there are other accounts in existence.”
Burris’ suit, filed on behalf of the state Department of Corrections, was the result of questions raised by prison officials who said Gacy’s personal inmate trust account at Menard has grown to a few thousand dollars.
Under a 1982 law, the state can move to recover incarceration expenses from inmates. The suit said costs for housing Gacy have totaled $141,074 since July 1, 1982, and have averaged $41.61 a day during the last three years.
State officials can only attempt to recover funds from when the state law took effect.
Burris aides said the suit will allow attorneys to question officials at the firm of Jac Kas Productions of Hannibal, Mo., which recently sent out more than 750 fliers advertising autographed, limited edition artworks by Gacy.
Among the items offered for sale were paintings from the “Hi Ho `Classic Collector’ Series,” with six variations on the Seven Dwarfs’ theme, for $150 apiece, and “Patches the Clown,” a 16-by-20-inch painting for $199, or $235 with an autographed color photo of the artist.
The solicitation also said Gacy could be commissioned to paint an individual portrait at prices exceeding $200.
“We understand there are some people out there who would consider this morally wrong,” said a man at the Hannibal firm who refused to disclose his name.
“But this is a country founded upon the free merchandising system. It’s capitalism. We’re not putting out TV commercials. We’re not putting out huge newspaper ads. There are people out there who want to buy these things, and we want to sell them,” he said.
The Missouri firm said Gacy receives some money from each sale, but the amount mainly covers the costs of his paints and canvas.
“The little money he does make he uses to buy stamps and writing supplies to keep up with his real hobby, which is being a pen pal to about 20,000 people,” he said. “If he has some money left, he uses it to buy cigars and some snacks.”
Corrections officials also have asked their staff members to check into the legality of the business. The department requires inmates who operate a business to have permission from the prison’s warden. Gacy has not received such permission.
“There’s nothing wrong with inmates painting. There’s nothing wrong with them corresponding. But if they’re doing business, they must have approval of the warden,” said Nic Howell, Corrections Department spokesman.
Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Monday to reject Gacy’s latest appeal, both Burris and Cook County State’s Atty. Jack O’Malley asked the state’s highest court to set an execution date.
