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Texas man takes love for literature too far when he shoots a woman in the name of Frankenstein
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Do not base important life decisions on this book.
One of the moral lessons in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is that evil is made, not born. In the book, an innocent creature is sculpted into a murderer after being spurned by society. Shelley's moral is all very well and good in theory, but what happens when someone actually uses it as a defense after allegedly committing a crime?
That’s exactly what happened in Corinth, Texas, earlier this week, when a local man supposedly shot a random woman over a speeding ticket dispute that has dragged on for two years. Bill Gilmore, 50, shot and wounded Kimberly Boggs, 36, while she watched her two children play in the park. Boggs was hospitalized and is listed in fair condition. Gilmore had no connection to Boggs, and although he hasn’t admitted that he shot her, he said he wanted to convince the town of Corinth that its speeding statute is illegal, and he realized that he "[needed] to think out of the box to get attention." But more importantly, in the tradition of John Hinckley, Gilmore justified his actions by comparing himself to a fictional character.
“I got my inspiration from Frankenstein,” said Gilmore. “The doctor creates the monster and drives him to desperation. These people have driven me crazy. I don’t know the difference between right and wrong.”
Well, that’s no good. We speculative fiction enthusiasts might have a penchant for dressing up as our favorite characters, but hopefully most of us stop short of shooting someone in the name of, say, Draco Malfoy or Carlisle Cullen.
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