Danny Rolling and Gainesville, Florida

Danny Rolling and Gainesville, Florida:

The Creation of a Moral Panic by the Media?

Sara Hutton

This study is the first to examine whether the media portrays the elements of a moral panic in their depiction of the crimes of a serial killer. A content analysis of 506 articles published in the primary newspaper of Gainesville, Florida, The Gainesville Sun, was performed in order to ascertain if a moral panic was the result of the paper’s reporting of the murders of five college students committed by Danny Rolling. The study resulted in the conclusion that while the components of a moral panic were present in the pre-indictment, post-indictment/pre- sentencing, and post-sentencing phases, they were not present in a high enough percentage to demonstrate that a moral panic occurred. More research needs to be done to examine how other forms of mass media represent such crimes and how the murders committed by other serial killers are portrayed.

Every day, all day, events take place that cause society to react in an infinite number of ways, whether it is panic, shock, outrage, disgust or happiness. Events such as crime, the election of officials and outbreaks of diseases all help to shape society and the way that it develops, whether it is instilling fear because of an outbreak of a disease of alleged epidemic proportions, a threat of a more conservative or liberal society as a result of the influence of those in power, or a “get tough” rhetoric to harden the public’s attitude towards crime and criminals.

Today’s society seems largely to revolve around fear of some kind: a fear of crime, terrorism, schools shootings, or drugs. The media is especially adept at shaping public attitudes toward fear, particularly with respect to serial murders. A sort of fascination and/or fear of serial killers has become ingrained in American culture. Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy and Dennis

Rader, better known to the public as “BTK,” are all infamous serial killers, yet the probability of ever becoming the victim of a serial killer is almost non-existent. Individuals such as these have had movies and books made about them. They remain as a sort of legend in today’s society.

Although Bundy committed his crimes in the 1970s, those who weren’t born until long after he had been captured are familiar with his name and what he used to look like. The amount of media attention paid to serial killers can give the impression that they are more prevalent than most would like to believe. The more media attention they receive, the more society’s fascination and fear of them increases and more people believe in the possibility of becoming a victim.

Serial killers are a unique presence in communities however; in what ways do these individuals affect the communities in which they commit their crimes? Does the presence of such a dangerous individual create a moral panic within the community, or is it merely a short lived news story? It is important to answer such questions because of the consequences serial

2 killers have on the residents of a community. Law enforcement and government officials need to know what the public’s expected reaction to such an event may be, how to erase fears and concerns if necessary, and how much information should be released. It is also helpful to citizens to know if a serial killer is residing in a community and to be kept informed of subsequent events related to the crime.

The purpose of this exploratory study is to determine if the 1990 Gainesville, Florida serial murders committed by Danny Rolling, also known as the “Gainesville Ripper,” exhibited any of the hallmarks of a moral panic. Specifically, did Gainesville’s primary newspaper, The

Gainesville Sun, in its depiction of Rolling’s rampage through the city and his subsequent apprehension, conviction, and execution use any of the components of a moral panic in its reporting?

To begin, what characteristics comprise a moral panic and how panics develop will be examined. What events constitute the development of a moral panic, how the media portrays crime, and known typologies of serial killers are reviewed, followed by a brief synopsis of the

Gainesville murders. The methodology section will then conceptualize and operationalize the variables constituting a moral panic, and delineate the analytic strategy. Lastly, the findings and a discussion of whether the components of a moral panic were found in the media’s presentation of the murders will be presented along with limitations of this study and avenues for future research.

LITERATURE REVIEW

COMPONENTS OF A MORAL PANIC

What exactly defines a moral panic? What characteristics must be present in order for a situation to be defined as a moral panic within society? The definitions provided by scholars somewhat differ. For example, Stanley Cohen, who coined the term, defined moral panic as:

“A form of collective behavior during which: A condition, episode, person or group emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests; it’s nature is presented in a stylized and stereotypical fashion by the mass media; the moral barricades are manned by editors, bishops, politicians and other right thinking people; socially accredited experts pronounce their diagnosis and solutions; ways of coping are evolved or (more often) resolved to; the condition then disappears, submerges or deteriorates and becomes visible.” (Cohen, 1972, p. 9)

Victor (1998) summarized a moral panic as a form of collective behavior characterized by suddenly increased concern and hostility in a significant segment of a society, in reaction to widespread beliefs about a newly perceived threat from moral deviants. Hunt (1997) offered the view that every moral panic has its scapegoat, the “folk devil” onto whom the public’s fears and fantasies are projected. At the center of the definitional controversy of what constitutes a moral panic is the agreement among researchers that a moral panic must have an object at the center of its focus; it must be about something. A moral panic must have a reason for existing; it cannot simply be the everyday stresses and anxieties that people experience in their lives.

Panics emphasize the contrast between the condition or behavior that is denounced and the correctness of the behavior or position of the righteous folk engaged in the denunciation

(Goode and Ben-Yehuda, 1994). The majority of people act a certain way and when an individual chooses to deviate from the “normal” way of acting, the difference between their actions and the actions taken by most may result in a moral panic. When the greater part of

4 society chooses to behave one way, this is often deemed as the correct form of behavior within a society, and when an individual chooses to forego this “correct behavior” route, a moral panic might ensue.

Goode and Ben-Yehuda (1994) summarize five necessary components of a moral panic: volatility, hostility, measureable concern, consensus, and disproportionality. They classified volatility as the sudden eruption and subsiding of a concern about a newly perceived threat to a society from a category of people regarded as being moral deviants. Hostility was determined to be demonstrated when the deviant was regarded with intense hostility as enemies of the basic values of society and attributed stereotypes of ‘evil’ behavior. Goode and Ben-Yehuda identified measureable concern to mean that the concern about the threat is measureable is concrete ways, such as with the use of attitude surveys. For consensus, there must be agreement among significant segments of the population that the threat is real and serious. Disproportionality was defined to mean that the concern about the numbers of moral deviants and the extent of the harm that they do is much greater than can be verified by objective, empirical investigation of the harm. Even though the measureable concern is great, the numbers of deviants are minimal or even non-existent and their harm is very limited or even non-existent.

This list of characteristics provides a more concrete way of determining what is or is not a moral panic as it occurs within society. It allows for a kind of check list to determine whether the term moral panic is applicable to a situation. While the consensus among the majority of scholars seems to be that something or someone must be at the center of a moral panic, the remaining components of what comprises a moral panic vary, just as the way moral panics develop may vary.

DEVELOPMENT OF MORAL PANICS

Thompson (1998) builds upon Cohen’s original analysis by positing five developmental stages of a moral panic. These stages are:

1) Something or someone is defined as a threat to values or interests.

2) This threat is depicted in an easily recognizable form by the media.

3) There is a rapid build-up of public concern.

4) There is a response from authorities or opinion makers.

5) The panic recedes or results in social change.

These five stages leave a wide range of events that could be classified as a moral panic. There is no one specific cause of a moral panic and no one specific event that, by itself, constitutes a moral panic.

Goode and Ben-Yehuda (1994) put forth three developmental models based on the source of a moral panic: the grassroots model, the elite-engineered model and the interest group approach. According to the authors, the grassroots model claims that the moral panic stems from the general public. What is central to the grassroots theorist – i.e. what explains the outbreak or the existence of the moral panic – are the deeply felt attitudes and beliefs on the part of a broad sector of the society - that a given phenomenon represents a real and present threat to their values, their safety, or even their very existence (Goode and Ben-Yehuda, 1994). This model claims that a moral panic cannot be launched without widespread support from the public; however, feelings and beliefs of the public are not enough on their own to instigate a moral panic. The public merely puts the issue into view and allows the panic to generate support of others. For example, nuclear power reactors have often been feared by the public and have been the source of wide-spread panic as demonstrated in Hodgson (2009). Hodgson (2009) claims

6 that the Soviet Union, during the time of the Cold War, tried to build upon the public’s inherent fear of reactors, as an increasing number of nuclear reactors were being built by instilling within the public that they were dangerous and harmful. The Soviet Union put forth the belief that disposing of nuclear waste was a problem that remained unsolved, when indeed, the opposite was true and the process of disposal was simple and well understood (Hodgson, 2009). After the

Soviet Union dissolved, peace activists looked for something new to focus their attention on and they turned to the campaign against nuclear reactors because they already held antinuclear beliefs; people who meant well were easy to recruit due to the fact that they naturally wanted peace and safety and were unaware of the deeper implications and origination of the campaign

(Hodgson, 2009). Hodgson (2009) asserts that the campaign gained more support when disasters such as the one at Chernobyl and the accident related to Three Mile Island occurred. These occurrences furthered the U.S. public’s belief that nuclear reactors were dangerous and their increased fear served to progress the panic, although a reactor such as the one built at Chernobyl would have never been built in the West (Hodgson, 2009).

The elite-engineered model argues that a small and powerful group or set of groups purposely keeps, generates, and sustains fear within the public about an issue they deem not to be intolerably harmful to society as a whole. The powerful group does this with the intentions of keeping attention diverted from the real problems of society; if the solutions to the real problems were to be implemented, the interests of the elite would be threatened. As an example, Hall,

Critcher, Jefferson, Clarke and Roberts (1978, cited in Goode and Ben-Yehuda, 1994) claim that the fear of being mugged in Britain in the early 1970s was a panic because the public was led to believe that street crime was increasing when, at the time, it was not. The panic in the 1970s regarding street crime “served to legitimate a law-and-order criminal enforcement program and

7 to divert attention from the growing “crisis” in British capitalism,” (Ben-Yehuda and Goode,

1994, p. 164). By focusing the panic on another issue, the elite were able to protect their own interests, and still maintain control of the capitalist system (Ben-Yehuda and Goode, 1994).

The interest group approach which Goode and Ben-Yehuda (1994) claim is the most widely used perspective of moral panics, relies on groups, other than elites, bringing forth an issue to the attention of the public. These groups may believe that they are moving forward with a noble cause, or a cause that will serve to increase their status, power, and material resources.

Heathcott (2011) cites that the issues of immigration and construction of the mosque at Ground

Zero have become sources of an interest group model moral panic because the “Tea Partiers” and the Republicans who support them have framed them as such. Heathcott (2011) claims that these two groups have used immigration and the construction of the mosque to act as scapegoats in the place of their real fear of “cultural pluralism.” He asserts that the fear of a changing America and the increasing influx of immigrants to the U.S. are at the root of the beliefs of these interest groups, not the undocumented immigrant; however, that is how the issue is portrayed to the public although in order to hide their true beliefs they attempt to incite a panic. Focusing the panic on these “others” hides their anxieties of an increasingly diverse America. Heathcott

(2011) cites public figures such as Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck and Pat Robertson as some of those who know how to exploit the fears of the public and divert attention away from the institutions that govern their lives through the creation of scapegoats such as illegal immigrants.

Pernessa Seele created a moral panic that can be categorized as an interest group panic by creating a panic that centered on the morality of individuals to care for and acknowledge those with AIDS; she suggested that they weren’t “living up to their moral obligations to care for those who are ill and suffering” (Harris, 2010, page 343). The panic that Seele created centered

8 around the idea that harm was being done to the community and those suffering from a lack of actions by church leaders; she believed it was the moral duty of religious institutions in Harlem to address the AIDS issue, and instead they were ignoring those with AIDS (Harris, 2010). The lack of actions by church leaders in this case can be viewed as the “folk devil’ or ‘something’ in this moral panic.

In contrast to the three models posited by Goode and Ben-Yehuda, Jenkins (2000) does not believe that moral panics stem from the interest of certain groups or that of elites, but from some event that has a profound effect on society. He asserts that a moral panic begins with an unspeakable tragedy which generates an attempt to assign blame and responsibility for the disaster; initially, accusations flow freely but focus on those targets who are already the subject of anxiety. As an example, violent video games have often been considered at fault for causing children to commit violent actions, such as the act committed by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold at Columbine High School. This idea is similar to the grassroots theory. Differing definitions of what a moral panic is and the various sources of origination can lead to different events being classified as moral panics whereas other may not.

EVENTS THAT TRIGGER MORAL PANICS

Throughout history, many different events have been known to cause moral panics in a community and beyond from where they originated. Moral panics have been caused by real and imagined threats. The Columbine shooting (along with other school shootings), the AIDS crisis, various drug epidemics in America and “9/11” are just a few of the events that have been sources of moral panics.

Perhaps one of the most well-known events that was the source of a widespread moral panic throughout not only the community of Littleton, Colorado, but throughout the entire

United States, was the Columbine High School shooting that took place on April 20, 1999.

During this incident, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold claimed the lives of twelve students, one teacher and then ended the tragedy by taking their own lives. During the week that followed the shootings, various television reports and a myriad of newspapers, and internet news articles described how students at Columbine High thought Harris and Klebold were goths and members of a group of ‘outcast’ students at the school who called themselves the “Trenchcoat Mafia”

(Griffiths, 2010). The claims made in the media further fueled the public’s fear about the existence of a “Trenchcoat Mafia” and of children labeled as “goths.” Students labeled as such were soon discriminated against. Teachers and administrators in both public and private schools saw their students as “threats” to public safety and suspected popular culture of turning good kids into brutal “monsters” (Jenkins, 2000). By the end of April 1999 the ban on black trench coats and other symbols related to gothic fashion had been adopted by high schools in New

Hampshire, Alabama, Massachusetts, Florida, Ohio, and Maine (Griffiths, 2010).

Schools were dramatically affected by Columbine, as the shooting had occurred in a school, an area where most people would believe to be safe from an event of this nature. Adults took immediate action, although not always in appropriate ways. Knowing little or nothing about the popular culture consumed by teens, teachers, principals, and parents reacted nonsensically due to fear (Jenkins, 2000). Jenkins discovered incidents such as a boy being suspended from school because he wore the Star of David to school and his teacher believed it to be a form of gang insignia. Another student was sent home for wearing a black coat that was part of his official ROTC uniform.

Society feared that individuals having these characteristics were more likely to take actions similar to those of Harris and Klebold. This change in attitude toward goths and other so-called ‘outcast’ students demonstrates how school staff members and other pupils began to actively assign blame, and control those groups who were seen to be responsible for the

Columbine massacre (Griffiths, 2010). This gave them an escape and something to blame the incident on, instead of focusing on the structure of society or the underlying causes of Harris and

Klebold’s actions.

The shootings that occurred at Columbine High School are not the only shootings to have caused a moral panic. On March 5, 2001, Charles Andrew Williams began shooting people on the campus of Santana High School, located in a suburb of San Diego, CA, resulting in the death of two students and the injury of thirteen others (Aitken, 2001). Only two weeks after this occurrence, Jason Hoffman injured five people with the use of a shotgun and pistol at Granite

Hills High School, only to be shot by an on-duty police officer at the school (Aitken, 2001). Just as in the aftermath of the Columbine tragedy, people began to clamor to make sense of these seemingly senseless events to comfort themselves. The police officer who used violent force to stop the shooting at Granite Hills was an instant hero, while the backgrounds of Williams and

Hoffman were scrutinized for telltale delinquent similarities with the shooters at Columbine

(Aitken, 2001).

Aitken (2001) states that in the weeks following the school shootings when reporters, politicians, parents, and kids scrambled to understand the tragedy, fears of copycat violence further exacerbated the moral panic; campuses were once again locked down across the nation, and police could be seen at every high school in San Diego. Aitken (2001) suggests that the moral panic evolved in part from the media spectacle of school shootings in seemingly tight-knit,

11 family-oriented communities. The authorities, policymakers and reporters who labeled these school shooters with such stereotypes as “lone teens,” “delinquent youth” and “angry young men” miss the point that the moral panic is not about the shooting themselves; they are looking for someone, a “folk devil,” to blame (Aitken, 2010, p. 598).

In addition to school shootings, varying health-related epidemics have also been the source of moral panics. A moral panic surrounding the presence of AIDS in an African

American community was started by Pernessa Seele and the non-profit organization she founded in 1993, The Balm of Gilead. The movement was originally focused on AIDS awareness, prayer and tolerance of individuals who had contracted the disease, but with the founding of The Balm of Gilead, it began promoting AIDS awareness and education (Harris 2010). Harris (2010) posited that because of the taboo ways in which HIV is contracted/spread throughout communities, different tactics are needed in order for a health social movement to take hold that is focused on Black religious institutions. Her findings, which included twenty-eight one-on-one interviews with Balm employees, church leaders and/or ministry leaders and AIDS community activists, suggest that a moral panic was created by The Balm of Gilead that targeted the Black

Church by framing the AIDS epidemic to be a social problem in “The Black Church.” Goode and Ben-Yehuda (1994) claim that the moral panic that arose from The Balm of Gilead was not a typical moral panic due to the fact that the originators of the panic were not the ones at the center of the panic, religious institutions were. The source of the panic was created by the church’s lack of moral responsibility to care for their fellow men.

Methamphetamine use in the United States has become the source of a moral panic for those in rural America. Weidner (2009) asserts that in the late-1990s, reports of an epidemic of meth ravaging large portions of the rural Midwest started to appear at the local and national

12 levels in both print and broadcast media. Jenkins (1999) declares that the use of a drug can occur over many years and not be considered to be a problem; the fact that all of a sudden it is viewed as an epidemic does not mean in actuality that its use has increased. In a study of meth users it was found that the majority of users reported using meth only once a week (Halkitis, Parsons and

Wilton, 2003). The periodic discovery of a makeshift meth lab in a random, quiet residential neighborhood that, in reality could exist anywhere, increases the concern about the meth problem in a distinct manner from that of other illegal drugs (Weidner, 2009). The way in which people perceive this discovery can add to the panic within the community. The sudden reporting of the issue (the volatility aspect suggested by Goode and Ben-Yehuda) can create a sudden increase of concern of the issue and lead to a moral panic. Meth can be viewed as the “folk devil” within a community that has a large amount of media coverage of its use and prevalence. This illustrates that how the media portrayed meth in a community determined how the problem was perceived by the public, and why information may not always be accurate. This has often been the case with how crime is portrayed in the media.

MEDIA’S PORTRAYAL OF CRIME

The media greatly influences the general population’s perception on any given number of topics. Denham (2008) states that the media seeks to maximize its audience and in order to do so they “seek dramatic news items, ideally involving attractive, popular or controversial individuals” (page 947). One topic that the media has the greatest influence on is the perception that people have about crime, whether it is about the prevalence of crime or who commits it. The location of where the crime is committed and where it is reported may have an effect on how the crime is perceived. The public indicated in polls that their primary choice for information was

13 local television news and their most prominent interests included local news and crime events

(Media Studies Center, 1997). Shoemaker and Reese (1996) report that people and events that could be perceived as deviant are more likely to appear in the media and that they are more likely to be stereotyped.

Print News

Griffiths’ (2010) examined the reaction of the public and media to folk devils of the moral panic that resulted from the Columbine High School shooting. His research focused on media outlets such as newspapers articles, websites, newsgroups, message boards and weblogs; the majority of the articles he collected and content analyzed were printed in National Daily New Zealand newspapers or online versions of newspapers from differing countries (Griffiths, 2010).

Interviews were also collected from Auckland, New Zealand goth scene members over a two year time span. Griffiths (2010) found a difference between the moral panic development in the

United States and New Zealand stating: “The New Zealand news medias’ decision to focus on other issues related to the Columbine tragedy such as high school bullying or firearm availability to young people might have had a significant effect on how the moral panic over the gothic subculture failed to develop to the same extent in New Zealand as it did in the USA” (p. 408).

The differences in the size and power of the media industries in these countries might have also had some effect on the development of the moral panic within each country (Griffiths, 2010).

The moral panic surrounding Columbine encompassed anxieties of adults and their ignorance of youth culture; instead of adults learning about the culture of teens, they made assumptions and projected their judgments onto youths (Jenkins, 2000).

Weidner’s (2009) study explored whether the media coverage that meth was receiving was proportionate to the scope of the meth problem in three places in the rural Midwest or if the media coverage was promoting a moral panic or scare about the drug. Weidner (2009) found that articles from the newspapers “contained the rhetoric of drug scares (e.g., using terms such as

“epidemic,” “plague” and “scourge”) to describe its prevalence and effects on individual users”

(p. 235). Use of these terms can be viewed as giving the impression that the meth prevalence in the community was more severe than it actually was, thus creating a moral panic. Those who make claims that are often found in the media, whether they belong to law enforcement, members of the medical community or government officials, are more likely to frame the meth problems using terms that relate to a drug scare (Weidner, 2009). These are often the individuals who are quoted in the media and what people use to base their judgment on.

Dussuyer (1979), in an examination of forty Ontario newspapers, found no association between the number of local crime items in the newspapers covering the communities and the official crime rate of these communities; however, he did discover a negative relationship between the crime rate and the number of crime related news editorials. Graber (1980) also found that the negative relationship existed: the town with the lowest crime rate had the highest ratio of media reports to the number of crimes. Dowler, Fleming and Muzzatti (2006) stated that the media’s selectivity of crime news that emphasizes violence and sensationalism, which plays on fears, both real and imagined, of readers and viewers, has produced a distorted view of crime and criminality to the public.

Newscasts

Yanich (2001), in his comparison of the presentation of crime by local television newscasts in Philadelphia and Baltimore, found that crime comprised almost one third of the stories in each city. Over 80 percent of crime in Philadelphia and Baltimore was non-violent offenses; murder was the rarest, accounting for less than one tenth of 1 percent in both cities

(Yanich, 2001). The audiences in Baltimore and Philadelphia were told almost identical stories that random, violent crime was a constant structural feature of American society; however, those in Philadelphia were made to believe that this was an urban phenomenon while those in suburban

Baltimore were warned that crime was spreading from the core of the city out to them. The media made a conscious decision to cover murder more than any other crime, although it was the least likely to occur (Yanich, 2001). The fact that murder was the most covered crime although it was the least likely to occur may contribute to a skewed opinion by the public as to what crime they are most vulnerable to. The realities put forth by the media are not exactly as they are in reality (Yanich, 2001). The media appeared to be operating under the belief that “if it bleeds it leads.” By covering violent crime more than non-violent crime, which occurred much more frequently, it projected the belief that violent crime transpired at a much higher rate that it did.

The media greatly affects what the public perceives to be true regarding crime, although what is portrayed may not always be accurate. Just as blacks are overrepresented as criminals, serials killers are sensationalized in the media although most murders that occur are single, one time murders; according to the Uniform Crime Report of 2010 compiled by the FBI, single victim/single offender situations comprised 48.4 percent of all murders for which the FBI received supplemental data for (U.S. DOJ, 2011).

SERIAL KILLERS

Not much is known for certain regarding serial killers or their motivations and victims.

The definition of what exactly a serial killer is often comes under scrutiny. Similar to the definition of moral panic, various definitions of serial killer exist. Perhaps the most widely accepted definition of what constitutes a serial killer is put forth by Holmes and Holmes (2001, p. 16): “A serial killer is a person who deliberately and with malice, kills three or more people in more than 30 days with a notable period between the murders.” The motivations of serial killers are another characteristic that varies and not all serial killers seem to have the same motivation.

The serial killers that are talked about most and whom most people in society are familiar with are known to have had sexual motivations and they were also men; however, women serial killers do exist (Farrell, Keppel & Titterington, 2011).

Holmes and Holmes (2001, p. 28-31) list several typologies of male serial killers. Their categories include: visionary, mission, hedonistic, and power/control. Visionary serial killers are those that kill because they hear voices instructing them to kill a certain person/group. Mission killers have a goal to eliminate a certain group of people. Hedonistic killers kill for the thrill of killing and they enjoy killing others. Power/control serial killers are those that kill for the gratification they get from having complete control over another person.

Ressler and Shachtman (1992, p. 128-151) distinguish between two types of offenders: the organized and the disorganized offender. The authors list several characteristics for each category; however, the categories are neither mutually exclusive nor exhaustive. Some of the major characteristics that the authors list are as follows: Organized offenders are those that premeditate/plan their crimes, target strangers as victims, are mobile, and adapt to situations.

These offenders often move the bodies of their victims to a different location than where their

17 death occurred, and as they gain more experience, they move the bodies further and further away. These are the offenders who often bring “rape kits” with them and they will bring their own weapon with them and take it with them when they leave. Disorganized offenders are those that will often take a victim at a high risk to themselves, they do not usually care whether they leave fingerprints or other evidence behind, and the death scene and the crime scene are the same location. Instead of material trophies, these killers may take a body part, a lock of hair or an article of clothing with them when they leave.

Many myths are prevalent in society regarding serial killers. Contrary to the belief of many people, serial killers are not only an American phenomenon (Jenkins, 1988). For example,

Jack the Ripper was an infamous serial killer that originated in London, England. Concerning the number of active serial killers, “the lower end of the estimate is 35, but there may be as many as 200 people who are actively killing multiple victims each year” (Holmes & Holmes, p. 22). It seems easier for people to believe that those individuals that commit serial murder are insane; however, this is not the case. “The ‘typical’ serial murderer is neither insane (a legal term, not a medical one) nor psychotic” (Holmes & Holmes, p. 32). Predicting violent behavior is not as easy to do as one would consider it to be. “Violent criminal behavior is extremely variable, making precise predictions problematic” (Beasley, 2004, p. 395). Overall, it may seem that picking out who may have the potential to become a serial killer in a crowd is easy to accomplish, but in reality, the contrary is true. No one serial killer is exactly like another and no one fits perfectly into a defined typology. Each is unique in his/her own way and has their own personal motivations for committing such acts.

DANNY ROLLING AND THE GAINESVILLE MURDERS

Danny Rolling was born on May 26, 1954 into the tumultuous and abusive marriage of his parents, James and Claudia Rolling. Much of his father’s violence was directed towards him and when he was in the third grade, a teacher recommended that he receive counseling for his

“nervousness and personality problems. He never received that counseling” (Steele, n.d., chapter

18). Rolling joined the Air Force in his early adult life only to be dismissed due to drug and alcohol problems (Steele, n.d.). Danny was imprisoned for a total of eight years on charges of armed robbery in various southern states and was never able to hold down a steady job. Rolling arrived in Gainesville, Florida on approximately August 19, 1990, three days before the murders began on August 23, 1990; however the bodies of his young victims, Sonja Larson, Christina

Powell, Christa Hoyt, Manuel Taboada and Tracy Paules, were not discovered until August 26-

28, 1990. The victims were all between the ages of 17 and 23. Each had been stabbed and the four girls were each mutilated; three of the girls were sexually assaulted. Several of the bodies were posed in a way meant to shock those who discovered the deceased. Christa Hoyt was decapitated and Rolling placed her head on a bookshelf in her bedroom to shock those who discovered her. During the investigation of the murders, Edward Humphrey, then a freshman at the University of Florida, emerged as a suspect. After Rolling was deemed a suspect, some hypothesized that Humphrey and Rolling had committed the murders together. However, this would later be proven false and no connection between the two was established.

After fleeing the small town shortly after the murders, Rolling was arrested after attempting to rob a Winn Dixie in nearby Ocala, Florida; in spite of this, an association between

Rolling and the Gainesville murders would not be established until 1991 when authorities in

Shreveport, Louisiana responded to a request from a Gainesville task force for reports of crimes

19 that were similar to those that they were investigating (Steel, n.d.). Rolling would be tied to the murders of three people in the Louisiana town in November 1989 and was wanted in Louisiana for the attempted murder of his father in May 1990 (Steel, n.d.).

When this link was established, it was realized that Rolling was incarcerated at the

Marion County Jail at the time, for the attempted robbery as well as for grand theft auto. Rolling had occupied two makeshift campsites in Gainesville during the time of the murders and had left personal items behind, including “bedding, a gun, a ski mask, a cassette tape deck and a screwdriver” (Steel, n.d., chapter 11). A DNA analysis was performed comparing bodily fluid evidence from the Gainesville crime scenes and from a tooth extraction that was performed on

Rolling during his time in jail. “Seventeen matches, between the screw-driver and the pry marks at the entry points of the three murder scenes, was confirmed, and a pubic hair, found through the vacuuming of the campsite, was found through DNA matching technology to belong to Christa

Hoyt” (Steel, n.d., chapter 11). Rolling would also be linked to a robbery of a local bank in

Gainesville on the day that Christa Hoyt was murdered.

Humphrey’s innocence would not be recognized until Danny Rolling was indicted for

“five counts of murder, three counts of sexual battery and three counts of armed burglary” and

Humphrey was omitted from the indictment (Steel, n.d., chapter 13). Even though he was never indicted along with Danny Rolling, some still believed he had been involved in some way.

Rolling was moved to Florida State Prison (FSP) in May 1992 where he began corresponding with Sondra London, “the self-proclaimed ‘media queen’ of inmate literature. She earned her living by publishing the art and writings of killers, especially those on death row” (Steele, n.d., chapter 14). The two were soon proclaiming love for each other, although many suspected that

London was using Rolling in order to make a profit, as she had copyrighted all of the drawings and pictures he had mailed to her (Steele, n.d., chapter 14).

Just a week before the trial was set to begin, Rolling officially signed a plea form, which entered him into a guilty plea; the only person to know of Rolling’s decision was prosecutor Rod

Smith, other than his defense attorney and the judge (Steele, n.d., chapter 15). By doing so, the jury only had to decide whether Danny would receive the death penalty or a sentence of life without parole. After two days of deliberation, the jury in Danny Rolling’s case determined that he deserved the death penalty for all five counts of murder; Judge Morris would find the same

(Steele, n.d., chapter 20). Danny Rolling would remain imprisoned until he was executed on

October 26, 2006 by lethal injection.

IN SUM

Experts agree that a moral panic must revolve around someone or something. However, the way in which these panics originate within a community is a source of conflict for scholars.

Differing definitions of what a moral panic is may lead to various classifications of events. The media plays a “hands on” role in how the events are relayed to the public, thereby contributing to the shaping of public opinion regarding the severity of the event. The media’s depiction of crime and criminals has led to the sensationalism of serial killers. “Serial killing, by any of the available definitions or statistical elements, is a rare crime, yet it achieves a disproportionate level of representation in both fictional and documentary media” (Warwick, 2006, page 555).

Not much is known for certain regarding serial killers, as each one is unique in their own way. It is important to study these individuals and the impact they have on the community in which they reside in order to establish resources to help those impacted by the event.

No research has been conducted to determine if the presence of a serial killer has led to the development of a moral panic. This study seeks to ascertain if the elements of a moral panic were present in the media’s (The Gainesville Sun’s) portrayal of the murders committed by

Danny Rolling. If the elements of a moral panic are indeed present, to what extent were they present, and during what time of the perpetrator’s involvement with the criminal justice system were they most likely to occur, pre-indictment, post-indictment/pre-sentencing or post- sentencing?

METHODOLOGY

SAMPLE

Data for the content analysis of this study was comprised of articles from the The

Gainesville Sun, a newspaper based in Gainesville, Florida, where Danny Rolling murdered five students. The unit of analysis was individual articles. The articles were amassed by searching an index provided by the Alachua County Public Library of the The Gainesville Sun using the terms

“Danny Rolling,” “student murders” and “student slayings.” The articles ranged in date, beginning on August 29, 1990 through October 26, 2006, beginning with the time when the murders took place and ending when Danny Rolling was executed. A total of 506 articles were collected after duplicates among the three groups and editorials were excluded. Editorials were excluded due to the fact that they are opinion articles. Each article was then analyzed. The articles were saved and stored to be reviewed at a later time.

VARIABLES

Measurable Concern

The articles were analyzed to see if they contained three of the five components of a moral panic suggested by Goode and Ben-Yehuda: measurable concern, hostility and consensus.

Measurable concern was coded nominally, “0” if quotes demonstrating concern were not present and “1” if they were present. Quotes demonstrating measurable concern consisted of those of people, schools, or law enforcement agencies expressing putting new safety measures in place because of the murders, an individual expressing feelings of fear/being scared or feeling cautious, or a mention of caution being felt in the air of the community. The number of quotes per article was made note of. Every mention of a new safety measure/feeling scared by a person was counted separately due to the fact that one person could have implemented multiple new safety habits into their daily life, as well as experiencing feelings of both fear and caution.

Measurable concern was expressed in 40 of the 506 articles (7.9%) indicating that in the majority of articles, measurable concern was not expressed in any way. The average number of measurable concern comments per article was 0.38. The minimum number of measurable concern comments in an article was 0 and the maximum was 28. The standard deviation was

1.91.

Hostility

Hostility was coded similarly to measurable concern. The absence of hostility comments was coded as “0” while “1” indicted that hostile comments were present. Comments expressing hostility consisted of those that expressed anger towards the perpetrator of the murders (before a

23 perpetrator was identified), expressed anger towards Danny Rolling particularly, name calling the perpetrator/Danny Rolling, comments expressing anger because the events radically changed their life, and comments that expressed a need for retribution, justice, punishment or the death penalty specifically. The number of hostile comments per article was again kept track of in the same manner as measurable concern. Hostility was present in 52 of the articles (10.3%). The majority of articles made no mention of hostility. The average number of comments expressing hostility per article was 0.22. The minimum number of hostile comments in an article was 0.

The maximum was 11 and the standard deviation was 0.88.

Consensus

Consensus was measured according to which law enforcement agencies were quoted in each article. The articles were first coded “0” if no law enforcement agency was quoted and

“1” if at least one was quoted. Then, the articles were dummy coded in terms of which law enforcement agency was quoted. For example, the articles were coded “0” if they did not quote the Gainesville Police Department (GPD) and “1” if they did. Every article was coded in this way for the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO), the Florida Department of Law

Enforcement (FDLE), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the task force that was developed to investigate the murders, or any other law enforcement agency, such as agencies in

Tampa and Ocala that were involved in the investigations of Rolling’s crimes in those cities.

Consensus was present in 146 of the 506 articles (28.9%). GPD was mentioned in 51 articles

(10.1%), ACSO was quoted in 31 articles (6.1%), FDLE was referred to in 32 articles (6.3%), the

FBI was cited in 4 articles (0.8%), the task force was referenced in 40 articles (7.9%), and other agencies were mentioned in 61 articles (12.1%).

Volatility

Volatility was looked at in two ways. The number of articles per year was counted to determine if the amount of articles spiked at any particular time between the time the murders occurred and the time Danny Rolling was executed. Years were also divided into quarters

(January – March, April – June, July – September, and October – December) and the number of articles per quarter was made note of to determine if a sudden increase in the amount of articles occurred. Articles were then coded according to their length to determine if any length of article was more prevalent than the others: 1 = short article, 2 = medium length article, and 3 = long article. Short articles occupied no more than roughly one third of a newspaper page. Medium articles were judged to be approximately no more than two thirds of a page and long articles consisted of those that were an entire newspaper page or more. Of the 506 articles, 322 (63.6%) were short articles, 137 (27.1%) were medium length articles, and 47 (9.3%) were long articles.

Mention of Edward Humphrey

Along with analyzing each article for components of a moral panic, each article was examined to see if or how Edward Humphrey, the first suspect, was mentioned. Each article was coded “0” if it made no mention of Humphrey, “1” if the article mentioned him as the primary or current suspect and “2” the article mentioned him as being a former suspect, having moved down on the list of suspects, that he was never indicted for the murders or referred to him as a sixth victim of the murders. The majority of articles, 420 of the 506 (83.0%), made no mention of

Edward Humphrey, 12.3% mentioned him as a current suspect, and 4.7% mentioned him as a former suspect.

Publication

Each article was coded for the time period the article was printed: 0 = before November

15, 1991 (before Rolling’s indictment), 1 = between November 15, 1991 and April 19, 1994

(post Rolling’s indictment and before Rolling was sentenced to death) and 2 = April 20, 1994 and after (the time after Rolling was sentenced to death). Of the 506 articles, 158 (31.2%) were published before Danny Rolling’s indictment, 261 (51.6%) were published after his indictment but before he was sentenced to death, and 87 articles (17.2%) were published after he was sentenced to death.

Percentage Descriptives

Variable % Components of a Moral Panic Concern 7.9 Hostility 10.3 Volatility Article Length Short 63.6 Medium 27.1 Long 9.3 Consensus (all agencies) GPD 10.1 ACSO 6.1 FDLE 6.2 FBI 0.8 Task Force 7.9 Other 12.1 Edward Humphrey No mention 83.0 Current suspect 12.3 Former suspect 4.7 Time of Publication Pre-indictment 31.2 Post-indictment 51.6 Post-sentence 17.2

Zero-Order Correlations

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 When Published 1

Measurable Concern -.262** 1

Number of Concern -.213** .671** 1 Comments

Hostility .194** .094* .042 1

Number of Hostility .178** .067 .011 .754** 1 Comments

Consensus -.355** .153** .089* -.058 -.033 1

GPD -.066 .316** .106* .060 .080 .526** 1

ACSO -.080 .169** .131** .022 -.018 .401** .380** 1

FDLE -.078 .044 -.021 -.061 -.048 .408** .264** .171** 1

FBI -.014 -.026 -.018 -.030 -.023 .140** .044 .070 .068 1

Task Force -.294** .050 -.015 -.051 -.050 .460** .194** .169* .165** .057 1 27

Other Agency -.298** -.018 -.028 -.085 -.074 .581** .037 .007 .128** .173** .161** 1

E.H. Mention -.167** -.024 -.023 -.067 -.073 .129** .114* .068 .111* .049 .189** .115** 1

Article Length .099* .153** .151** .299** .231** .194** .216** .248** .165** .040 .086 .103* .179** 1

**Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (two-tailed) * Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (two-tailed)

ANALYTIC STRATEGY

A grounded theory approach was used in this study. The coding scheme for the presence of measurable concern, hostility, and consensus in an article was developed before any articles were analyzed. As articles were read, the idea to keep track of the number of measurable concern and hostility comments per article was put into place, along with coding for each individual agency. The notion to code for how Edward Humphrey was mentioned in each article, the length of each article, and the time period in which each article was published was also implemented after articles had been read. Those articles read prior to the application of coding for these new additional variables were re-examined and coded for the new variables. In order to examine the relationships between the variables of a moral panic, when the newspaper articles were published, and how Edward Humphrey was mentioned various t-tests, ANOVA tests, correlations, and crosstabulations were performed. Line graphs were comprised to further examine volatility. The hypothesis for these analyses is that the components of a moral panic will be both present and significant, especially during the time frame before Danny Rolling was indicted.

RESULTS

T-TEST ANALYSES

Multiple t-tests were performed to examine if there were significant relationships between GPD, ACSO, FDLE, FBI, the task force, and other law enforcement agencies (used as the independent variable in the analyses) and the number of times in an article either measurable concern or hostility was voiced (the dependent variable). GPD was the only law enforcement

29 agency that had a significant mean difference between the number of measurable concern comments in an article and whether the article contained a quote from GPD or not (p-value of

0.038 and t-statistic of -2.121). Articles with a quote from GPD had a higher number of measurable concern comments in them (mean = 0.98) than did those without a comment from

GPD (mean = 0.31). Feelings of measurable concern and the time when GPD was actively involved in investigating the five murders occurred during the same time period. Both were more likely to be present in the pre-indictment time frame, thus increasing the probability that when GPD was quoted, more comments expressing measurable concern were also going to be present in the same article. GPD was arguably the agency closest to the community during the time of the murders and this may explain why they were the only agency that resulted in a mean difference between the number of measurable concern comments in a article and whether they were quoted or not.

Significant mean differences between the number of hostile comments in an article and whether FDLE, the task force, or an unspecified agency was mentioned in an article was discovered. Articles that did not have a quote from FDLE, had an average of 0.23 comments expressing hostility in the contents, while those with a comment from FDLE had an average of

0.06 hostile comments per article. The p-value for this relationship was 0.025 and the t-statistic was 2.291. With a p-value of 0.023, a significant mean difference was found between articles that contained quotes from the task force and those that did not and the number of hostility comments contained in these articles. Those that had a quote from a member of the task force had an average of 0.08 hostile comments in the article, while those without a quote contained an average of 0.24 hostile comments in the article.

Finally, the p-value of the relationship between the number of hostility related comments and whether an unspecified agency was quoted was 0.001 and the t-statistic was 3.472. Articles that did not have a quote from another law enforcement agency had an average of 0.25 hostile comments per article while those that did had an average of 0.05. More hostility was present in articles that lacked any comment from FDLE, the task force, or another agency than those that contained comments from these agencies. Law enforcement quotes were not ones that expressed any emotion or personal opinion about the case, but ones that focused merely on the facts.

Articles that expressed hostility may have been more emotionally based than those with quotes from law enforcement agencies, and therefore consensus and hostility were less likely to appear in the same article. Comments from the FBI were too infrequent in occurrence to be effected by whether a hostile comment was present in an article.

ANOVA ANALYSES

Several ANOVA analyses were performed to examine if mean differences existed in the average of measurable concern or hostility comments and how Edward Humphrey was mentioned (no mention, current suspect, former suspect) and the time frame the article was published (pre-indictment, post-indictment/pre-sentencing, post-sentencing). In testing for mean differences in hostility comments, no statistically significant mean differences existed for type of

Edward Humphrey mention. Nor were mean differences in measurable concern found with respect to Edward Humphrey. Humphrey was most likely not mentioned in an article no matter what time period it was published in. Consequently, no mean differences existed between the number of hostile or measurable concern comments per article and how Humphrey was mentioned.

In testing for mean differences in measurable concern by time frame, a statistically significant relationship (p-value of 0.00 and F-statistic of 17.658) was present. A Least Square

Difference post hoc test found a significant difference occurred between before Rolling was indicted and before he was sentenced (t-statistic = 1.067 and p-value = 0.00). A significant relationship (t-statistic = 1.021 and p-value = 0.00) was also present between pre-indictment and post-sentencing. Pre-indictment articles had an average of 1.10 measurable concern comments per article while the post-indictment/pre-sentencing article and the post-sentencing articles had, on average, less than one comment expressing measurable concern per article, 0.03 and 0.08 respectively. As time passed, measurable concern may have been felt less in the community because someone had been apprehended for the murders and people did not fear for their safety any longer. They knew who was responsible for the crimes and were aware that he was in custody and away from them. With this knowledge, they may have been able to resume their lives as they were before the murders and their feelings of fear and caution may have slipped away as time moved on. Measurable concern may have been expressed in more recent articles due to the fact that articles published after Rolling’s indictment tended to revolve around his upcoming trial, sentencing and appeals rather than around the feelings of the community. While the relationships may be significant, the average number of measurable concern comments per article was extremely low in all three of the referenced time periods.

Additional ANOVA analyses were conducted to test for mean differences in hostility comments and the time frame in which the article was published. The model was significant, with a p-value of 0.00 and F-statistic of 9.344. Similar to concern, a significant relationship was established between the pre-indictment articles and those published post-sentencing. The p- value for this relationship was 0.00 and the t-statistic was -.0494. Also with a p-value of 0.00, a

32 significant relationship was noted between the post-indictment articles and the post-sentencing articles. Hostility was more likely to be expressed in the post-sentencing articles. The mean number of hostile comments for articles published during this time frame was 0.56. The post- indictment/pre-sentencing articles contained an average of 0.20 hostile comments and the pre- indictment articles had an average of 0.07 comments per article. Hostility may have been expressed more in the later articles because someone had been apprehended and admitted to being the one responsible for the murders, the public now knew exactly who to blame and direct their anger towards. They had a specific person who they wanted punished for taking their loved ones, friends, and co-workers away from them. They wanted him to pay for his actions and for the trauma he put the city through. Again, while significant relationships were determined, the average number of hostile comments, as with measurable concern comments, per article was extremely low.

INTERPRETED CORRELATIONS

A bivariate correlation analysis was performed in order to identify the significant relationships between variables. Several significant relationships were found. A significant but weak, negative relationship (r = -0.262) existed between whether measurable concern was present or not and when the article was published. The later an article was published, the less likely measurable concern comments were to be present in the article. Following this logic then, concern would be expected more in the pre-indictment and the pre-sentencing time frame when compared to the post-sentencing period. To be expected from the previous relationship, a weak, negative relationship (r = -0.213) was present between the number of concern comments per article and when it was published. A lower number of measurable concern comments in an

33 article were found the later in time an article was published. This result was in agreement with the result from the ANOVA analysis that examined the number of measurable concern comments in an article and when an article was published. Feelings of caution and fear may have evaporated over time because once Rolling was indicted for the murders and sentenced, people no longer had to worry that every stranger they encountered was the killer. They knew who was responsible and that he was behind bars.

The publication time frame of the article and whether hostile comments were present provided a significant weak, positive relationship (r = 0.194). In addition, a positive and weak correlation between the number of comments containing hostility in an article and the publication date of the article was suggested (r = 0.178). The later an article was published, the more likely hostility related comments were to be noted in an article. This conclusion was also found to be in agreement with the ANOVA findings of the analysis between the number of hostile comments contained in an article and when an article was published. Citizens and the families of the victims knew exactly who to blame for their pain and expressed the need for punishment toward Rolling specifically. During the post-sentencing period, Rolling appealed his death sentence, and it was commonly expressed that his sentence should be upheld because he needed to suffer the consequences of his actions.

The time period in which an article was published was found to have a moderate, negative correlation to whether consensus among law enforcement agencies was present in the article (r = -0.355). The later the time period in which an article was published, the less likely consensus was to be found in an article. In accordance with this, a significant, borderline weak/moderate, negative correlation was determined to exist between when an article was published and whether an article contained a quote from the task force (r = -.294) as well was a

34 borderline weak/moderate negative relationship between an article’s publication time and whether another law enforcement agency was quoted. An article published later in time was less likely to contain a quote from the task force or another agency. As the case progressed from the investigation stage to the indictment phase and ultimately the post-sentencing period, those involved in the differing stages changed. Law enforcement was more likely to be involved in the investigation stage. Articles related to the investigation tended to be published in the pre- indictment time period, hence why they were more likely quoted in articles during this period.

After that, the case proceedings played out in a court room. Attorneys and judges became the main personnel involved at this point and therefore, were quoted more in the articles than law enforcement agencies.

An article’s publication date and an article’s length was established to have a weak, positive correlation (r = 0.099). Articles that were published more recently, tended to be longer in length than those published when the murders first occurred. More recent articles almost solely focused on looking back at the time when the murders occurred and marking anniversaries since the murders. These articles were, more often than not, long in length. The post-sentencing time period contained the largest number of years of the three periods, and also the most anniversaries since the murders occurred. This would account for why articles published more recently were longer than those published in the pre-indictment period. In addition, as the case progressed more information was known and could be reported in the articles.

Measurable concern and the number of measurable concern comments in an article were shown to have a significant strong, positive correlation (r = 0.671). This result was to be expected due to the fact that the variables measure the same thing, only in a different way.

Measurable concern and hostility were revealed to have an extremely weak, almost non-existent,

35 positive relationship with a value of r = 0.094. If an article contained a measurable concern comment, it was more likely to contain a hostile comment than if it lacked a comment expressing measurable concern. This relationship may have been the result of individuals expressing hostility towards the perpetrator for making them fearful, scared, and cautious.

Measurable concern and consensus had a weak, positive correlation (r = 0.153). If measurable concern was expressed in an article, it was more likely to have some form of consensus among law enforcement agencies within the article. To tie in with this correlation, the number of measurable concern comments in an article was established to have a weak, positive correlation to consensus within an article (r = 0.089). The more comments expressing measurable concern in an article, the more likely consensus was to be in the article as well. A significant correlation was found between measurable concern and quotes from GPD (r = 0.316) and ACSO (r = 0.169). Both correlations indicated that if measurable concern was present in the article, a quote or comment was more likely to be expressed by either GPD or ACSO as well. In concurrence with this, the number of measurable concern comments contained in an article was determined to have a weak, positive correlation to GPD (r = 0.106) and ACSO comments (r =

0.131). The higher the number of measurable comments in an article, the more likely a quote from GPD or ACSO was to be in the same article. Both measurable concern and consensus were expressed the most in the pre-indictment time frame, and therefore, both were likely to be expressed within the same article. Concern was most likely to be felt before a suspect was indicted, which was also the time when law enforcement agencies were likely to be actively involved in the investigation process and quoted in articles. GPD and ACSO were both forms of consensus, thus more likely to be quoted in earlier articles, which also had a higher chance of containing comments expressing measurable concern.

Measurable concern and the number of measurable concern comments in an article and the article’s length were determined to have weak, positive correlations with a value of r = 0.153 and 0.151. An article containing measurable concern and the more measurable concern comments in an article, the longer the article was likely to be. Longer articles were the more personal ones which focused more on the emotional aspects of the murders and did not merely give facts about what was happening with the case. Due to the fact that longer articles tended to be those with more emotional components, including feeling of caution and fear, more measurable concern comments were found in an article the longer it was.

The presence of a hostile comment and the number of hostility comments in an article had a strong, positive correlation (r = 0.754). As with measurable concern and the number of measurable concern comments in an article, this correlation was also be expected because the two variables examine the same concept, but in a different manner. Hostility and article length were shown to have a borderline weak/moderate, positive correlation, (r = 0.299). This demonstrated that if hostile comments were present in the article, the longer in length the article was likely to be. Tying into this correlation, the number of comments demonstrating hostility in an article was found to be weakly and positively correlated to article length. The more hostile comments present in an article, the longer the article was likely to be. As with measurable concern and article length, anger and hostility are emotional elements, and consequently, they are more likely to be present the longer an article is.

Consensus was noted to have a strong, positive correlation to a mention of GPD (r =

0.526) and some other agency (r = 0.581), a moderate, positive relationship to ACSO (r = 0.401),

FDLE (r = 0.408), and the task force (r = 0.460), and a weak positive correlation to the FBI

(0.140). If consensus was present within the contents of an article, it was going to contain a

37 mention of at least one of the law enforcement agencies. A quote from another agency was the most likely to be present if consensus was demonstrated in an article, followed closely by a quote from GPD.

Consensus and article length displayed a weak, positive correlation with an r value of

0.194. GPD and article length were weakly and positively correlated (r = 0.216). An article with a quote from ACSO was substantiated to have a weak, positive correlation to article length (r =

0.248). A comment from FDLE and the length of an article showed to have a weak, positive correlation (r = 0.165). If some unspecified law enforcement agency was quoted, it was shown to have a weak, positive correlation with the length of the article (r = 0.103). If consensus was present in an article, the article was more likely to be longer in length. Longer articles allowed for more material and a broader range of subjects to be covered. More people may have been interviewed in longer articles than those of shorter length, which presented a higher chance that consensus was demonstrated in the article.

A comment from GPD and comments from ACSO (r = 0.380), FDLE (r = 0.264) and the task force (r = 0.194) all demonstrated positive correlations. A comment from GPD and a comment from ACSO were the mostly likely to occur with a moderate correlation, followed by

FDLE and finally the task force, both with weak correlations. GPD and ACSO may have had a higher chance of occurring together than FLDE or the task force because both agencies resided in the county where the murders occurred. FDLE and the task force were more removed from the vicinity of the murders occurred and less likely to be quoted along with GPD in The

Gainesville Sun.

An article with a comment from ACSO was found to have a weak, positive correlation to a quote from FDLE and the task force in an article with an r value of 0.171 and 0.169

38 respectively. An article containing a citation from ACSO was more likely to have a comment from FDLE or the task force than those without a quote from ACSO. Articles with comments from FDLE within them were correlated weakly and positively with those containing articles where either the task force (r = 0.165) or another agency (r = 0.128) were quoted. If an article contained a quote from ACSO it was likely to also have a comment from the task force or another agency as well. An article containing a quote from the FBI or the task force had a weak, positive correlation to if another agency was quoted, r = 0.173 and r = 0.161. If a quote from the

FBI or task force was contained in an article, the article was likely to contain a quote from another agency as well. These agencies were quoted together because consensus was likely to occur in longer articles and longer articles allow for more quotes from varying sources.

CROSSTABULATIONS

Crosstabulations were performed to establish if significant relationships existed between when an article was published, the length of an article, consensus in an article, quotes from either

GPD, ACSO, FDLE, FBI, the task force, any other law enforcement agency, and the manner in which Edward Humphrey was presented in an article.

A crosstabulation examining if the time period in which an article was published and the length of an article produced a significant relationship (p-value of 0.015, test statistic = 12.381, and degrees of freedom = 4). In all three of the time periods, the vast majority of the articles in each were those of short length. For the pre-indictment articles, 66.5% were short, 66.5% of the articles published post-indictment/pre-sentencing were short, and 52.9% of the articles published post-sentencing were short. The post-sentencing time frame had significantly longer articles

(18.4%) then the other two time frames. Long articles accounted for 8.9% of the pre-indictment

39 articles and only 6.5% of the post-indictment/pre-sentencing articles. All of the time periods had similar amounts of medium length articles contained in them (pre-indictment: 24.7%, post- indictment/pre-sentencing: 28.0%, and post-sentencing: 28.7%). As in the correlation between when an article was published and its length, the significant increase in the percentage of long articles in the post-sentencing time period may have been related to the subject matter of the articles in this time period. Articles that were published in the post-indictment time frame included those that focused on remembering the victims and marking the anniversaries of the murders. Articles of such topics tended to be long in length, and may explain such an increase in the percentage of long articles.

A crosstabulation investigating the relationship between an article’s publication time and whether consensus was present in an article yielded a significant relationship with a p-value of

0.00 (the test statistic = 88.418 and the degrees of freedom = 2). The time an article was published did have a significant effect on whether some form of consensus was presented in the article. Of the articles published before Rolling was indicted for the five murders, 57.0% made some mention of a law enforcement agency. The post-indictment/pre-sentencing time frame and the post-sentencing time frame articles had mostly no form of consensus mentioned in them

(83.9% for both time periods). If consensus was present in an article, it was most likely to be one printed before Rolling’s indictment.

With a p-value of 0.00 (test statistic = 20.740 and degrees of freedom = 2), a significant relationship was established between the time period in which an article was published and whether a quote from GPD was present or not in the article. No matter which of the time periods an article was published in, the majority of articles contained no comment from GPD. 82.9% of pre-indictment articles contained no mention. 95.8% and 85.1% of post-indictment/pre-

40 sentencing and post-sentencing articles lacked a quote from GPD of any kind. Articles published before Rolling was indicted had the highest percentage of quotes from GPD in them (17.1%).

The time when an article was published and whether or not ACSO, FDLE, or the FBI were quoted or not did not result in any significant relationships. The relationship between publication time and a comment from FDLE was just barely not significant with a p-value of

0.053 (test statistic = 5.866 and degrees of freedom = 2). Again, in any of the three time periods, the majority of articles contained no mention of a comment from FDLE. 89.9%, 95.8%, and

94.3% of the articles in the pre-indictment, post-indictment/pre-sentencing, and post-sentencing time periods respectively, lacked any form of comment from a member of FDLE. The pre- indictment time period contained the highest percentage of articles with comments from FDLE

(10.1%).

The period in which an article was published and the presence or lack thereof of a quote from the task force was determined to be a significant relationship (p-value of 0.00, test statistic of 58.538, and degrees of freedom = 2). No quote from the task force was present in the majority of the articles in all of the time frames. 78.5% of the articles in the pre-indictment category contained no quote from the task force and 98.1% and 98.9% of those published post- indictment/pre-sentencing and post-sentencing lacked a comment of any kind. While no comment from the task force was the most common result, a noteworthy difference did emerge between those published earlier than the latter two time periods. 21.5% of those printed pre- indictment contained a quote from the task force while in the other two periods, only 1.9% and

1.1% (post-indictment/pre-sentencing and post-sentencing) had comments from the task force.

Almost identical results emerged when publication period and another agency were examined (p-value of 0.00, test statistic = 58.608, degrees of freedom = 2). No comment from

41 another law enforcement agency was the most common result. 71.5%, 95.0%, and 96.6% of articles published pre-indictment, post-indictment/pre-sentencing, and those printed post- sentencing had no comment from an agency not specified. The highest percentage of comments from another agency was found in the pre-indictment time frame (28.5%). 5.0% of the articles in the post-indictment/pre-sentencing phase had comments from another agency and 3.4% of the post-sentencing articles contained comments. As time progressed, the percentage of articles per time period with comments decreased. These findings are in agreement with what was established by the correlation results. As the case progressed, law enforcement played less of a hands on role, and were not quoted as often.

The presence or lack of consensus present in an article and the length of an article was significant (p-value of 0.00, test statistic = 19.128, and degrees of freedom = 2). Of the articles that lacked any form of consensus, 69.2% were short in length. When consensus was expressed in some form in an article, 50.0% were also short in length. When no law enforcement agency was quoted in an article, 24.2% were of medium length and 6.7% were long in length. Of the articles that expressed consensus, 34.2% were of medium length and 15.8% were long articles.

A most notable difference occurred between whether or not consensus was expressed in some manner in articles of short and long length. This finding was also established by the results of the bivariate correlation. Articles that contained some form of consensus had a lower percentage of short articles and a higher percentage of long articles than those that lacked consensus.

Longer articles provided more room for more law enforcement officers from varying agencies to be interviewed.

The date an article was published was found to have a significant effect on whether comments expressing hostility were present in an article or not (p-value of 0.00, test statistic =

21.242, and degrees of freedom = 2). The post-sentencing time frame had the highest percentage of articles that contained at least one hostile comment (23.0%). The pre-indictment time period had the lowest percentage of articles with hostility related comments in them (4.4%). 9.6% of the articles in the post-indictment/pre-sentencing time period contained hostile comments. As time progressed, hostility was more likely to be expressed within an article. A large difference emerged between the two earlier time periods and the post-sentencing time period. This finding is corroborated by the finding in the bivariate correlation between hostility and the time when an article was published. Rolling’s commission of the murders became more solidified over time and people now had an exact person to blame and direct their anger towards than in earlier articles where no specific person was held accountable for the commission of the murders.

The time when an article was published was found to have a significant impact on whether measurable concern was expressed in an article or not (p-value of 0.00, test statistic =

53.502, and degrees of freedom = 2). The pre-indictment period had the highest percent of articles expressing measurable concern (20.9%) of the time frames. After this period, the percentage of articles in the remaining time frames that included such comments was less, 1.5% of the post-indictment/pre-sentencing articles, and 3.4% of the post-sentencing articles. As time progressed, concern was expressed in almost none of the articles. Concurrent with the results from the bivariate correlation, when the murders stopped, and Rolling was apprehended and sentenced, fear faded and life returned to normal because it was evident who was responsible and he was no longer at large in the community.

In the final crosstabulation, an article’s publication period and how Edward Humphrey was mentioned were analyzed. With a p-value of 0.00 (test statistic = 115.927 and degrees of freedom = 4) a significant relationship resulted. While the majority of articles in all of the time

43 frames contained no mention of the once suspect, differences between the time periods did occur.

In the pre-indictment time frame, 65.2% of the articles made no reference to Edward Humphrey,

34.8% of the articles mentioned him as a current suspect, and 0.0% referred to him as a former suspect. However, in the post-indictment/pre-sentencing articles, 90.0% made no mention of

Humphrey, 2.7% referred to him as a current suspect, and 7.3% mentioned Humphrey as a former suspect. In the post-sentencing articles, 94.3% made no mention of him, 0.0% mentioned him as a current suspect, and 5.7% referred to him as a former suspect. If Humphrey was mentioned as a current suspect it was most likely in the pre-indictment phase and if he was mentioned as a former suspect it was the most likely to occur in the post-indictment/pre- sentencing phase. In the pre-indictment stage, Humphrey was the main suspect until Rolling was identified. Even after Rolling became the main suspect, many still believed that Humphrey had been involved in some way and he was not crossed off the list of suspects, hence why he was referred to as a current suspect the most in the pre-indictment articles. Once Rolling had been indicted for the murders and Humphrey was not, there was no need to believe he was involved in any way, thus he was referred to as a former suspect the most in the post-indictment/pre- sentencing phase. After Rolling was sentenced, the person responsible for the murders had been indentified held accountable. It was clear then that Rolling alone was responsible, and accordingly, Humphrey was not mentioned as a current suspect at all in this period.

VOLATILTY LINE GRAPH RESULTS

Articles Per Year

The resulting line graph that was produced when the numbers of articles published between 1990 through 2006 were plotted, showed that the amount of articles per year varied. A spike of 74 articles was noted between 1990 (50 articles) and 1991 (124 articles). In 1991,

Rolling was identified as the primary suspect in the murder investigation and was subsequently indicted for the murders by a grand jury. Such occurrences may have influenced such a spike.

Between 1992 and 1994 a steady increase in the amount of articles present in The Gainesville

Sun presented itself. In 1992, 58 articles were published, 1993 contained 90 articles, and 1994 had 123 articles. A difference of 32 articles was present between 1992 and 1993. 33 more articles were printed in 1994 than in 1993. After Rolling was indicted in 1991, anticipation for his trial began. Initially, the trial was supposed to begin in 1993, but was delayed several times.

Eventually in 1994, Rolling pled guilty for the murders and was sentenced to death. This sequence of events may explain why there was a steady increase in the amount of published articles.

A smaller increase of 11 articles between 1999 (2 articles) and 2000 (13 articles) occurred. The year 2000 marked the 10 year anniversary since the murders were committed.

Such a noted anniversary may have influenced the influx of articles that were written. The final spike in articles was between 2004 and 2006. No articles were published in 2004. In the following year, 2005, 7 articles were published. In 2006, the year Rolling was executed, 10 articles were published. The increase of articles may be explained by a buildup to his impending execution.

Volatility (Number of Articles Per Year)

140

120

100

Volatility 60

0 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Articles Per Quarter Year

Volatility is represented by the line graph plotting the number of articles by quarter and year. The graphs show significant spikes did occur. A spike between the time of October –

December 1990, which had 2 articles, and January – March 1991, which contained 20 articles, was noticeable (increase of 18 articles). This spike may have been initiated because Rolling was first identified as a potential suspect during this period. An increase from April – June 1991 (22 articles) and July – September 1991 (49 articles) was evident (an increase of 27 articles).

Rolling became the main suspect during this period and the prosecutors were preparing for their presentation to a grand jury. Their presentation included evidence against Rolling and

Humphrey, but Humphrey was not expected to be indicted.

October – December 1992 (11 articles) and January – March 1993 (26 articles) appeared as a sudden increase on the graph with a difference of 15 articles between the two periods. No single significant event occurred during this spike. Another inmate had come forward saying that Rolling confessed to the murders and where he buried the murder weapon which resulted in new searches for evidence. More case files were being released to the public during this period.

Combined, these two events may explain the jump in the amount of articles. July – September

1993 (12 articles) and October – December 1993 (32 articles) resulted in a clear uprising on the graph. This was the time when Rolling’s trial was expected to first begin before it was delayed until February of 1994. A large jump in amount of articles published occurred between October

– December 1993 and January – March 1994 (difference of 62 articles). It was during this period that Rolling surprised everyone when he changed his plea from not guilty to guilty, eliminating the need for a trial to determine his guilt. Instead, only the determination of whether he should receive the death penalty or life in prison without parole remained.

Three small increases were evident. Between January – March 1997 (1 article) and April

– June 1997 (6 articles) a small increase of 5 articles took place. During this time, DNA linked

Rolling to the rape of a Sarasota, Florida woman. The woman identified herself during this period and filed a lawsuit against Rolling. Another small increase, this time of 7 articles, occurred between April – June 2000 (3 articles) and July – September 2000 (10 articles). August

2000 marked the 10 year anniversary of the murders. The landmark anniversary sparked feelings of remembrance for the families of the victims and for the community. The last minor increase occurred between April – June 2005 (0 articles) and July – September 2005 (7 articles) resulting in an increase of 7 articles. August 2005 marked 15 years since the commission of the murders.

As with the articles published around the 10 year anniversary, articles in this time period focused on remembering the victims.

Volatility (Number of Articles Per Quarter Year)

100

30 Volatility

JanuaryMarch 2005 - JanuaryMarch - 1991 JanuaryMarch - 1992 JanuaryMarch - 1993 JanuaryMarch - 1994 JanuaryMarch - 1995 JanuaryMarch - 1996 JanuaryMarch - 1997 JanuaryMarch - 1998 JanuaryMarch - 1999 JanuaryMarch - 2000 JanuaryMarch - 2001 JanuaryMarch - 2002 JanuaryMarch - 2003 JanuaryMarch - 2004 JanuaryMarch - 2006

July - September- July 2005 JulySeptember- 1991 JulySeptember- 1992 JulySeptember- 1993 JulySeptember- 1994 JulySeptember- 1995 JulySeptember- 1996 JulySeptember- 1997 JulySeptember- 1998 JulySeptember- 1999 JulySeptember- 2000 JulySeptember- 2001 JulySeptember- 2002 JulySeptember- 2003 JulySeptember- 2004 JulySeptember- 2006

August -August1990 September

T-Test

Means Means Mean P-Values Difference GPD absent GPD present Number of Concern 0.31 0.98 0.67 0.04* Comments Number of Hostility 0.20 0.43 0.23 0.32 Comments ACSO absent ACSO present Number of Concern 0.31 1.35 1.04 0.26 Comments Number of Hostility 0.23 0.16 0.07 0.69 Comments FDLE absent FDLE present Number of Concern 0.39 0.22 0.17 0.63 Comments Number of Hostility 0.23 0.06 0.17 0.03* Comments FBI absent FBI present Number of Concern 0.38 0.00 0.38 0.69 Comments Number of Hostility 0.23 0.00 0.23 0.61 Comments Task Force absent Task Force present Number of Concern 0.38 0.28 0.10 0.73 Comments Number of Hostility 0.24 0.08 0.16 0.02* Comments Other agency Other agency absent present Number of Concern 0.40 0.23 0.17 0.53 Comments Number of Hostility 0.25 0.05 0.20 0.00* Comments

DISCUSSION

The findings of this exploratory study are inconclusive as to whether the murders committed by Danny Rolling resulted in a moral panic in any of the time periods. However, do to varying definitions of what comprises a moral panic, other researchers may conclude that a panic was the outcome of the Rolling murders. While all of the time periods did contain elements of a moral panic, in examining each time frame individually, no single time frame had a majority of consensus, concern, and hostility expressed at the same time. The only time period in which the majority of articles contained a moral panic component was the pre-indictment period which had consensus expressed in the 57.0% of its articles. Volatility was present in each of the periods, as all of the time periods contained spikes in the amount of articles published, both yearly and quarterly, and all of the periods contained articles of each length. Even though an increase in the amount of long articles in the post-sentencing time period was noted, a jump in articles by itself did not constitute a panic was present during this period. Measurable concern and consensus were most likely to be expressed in the pre-indictment time frame, while hostility was most likely to be expressed in the post-sentencing period. Although the pre-indictment time frame did have a majority of articles that expressed one of the elements of a moral panic

(consensus) and a spike in the amount of articles, these factors alone did not provide enough evidence that a moral panic occurred and when it ended.

Unlike other serial killers, Danny Rolling was not active in the community for a significant amount of time as was Ted Bundy, who was active for years. This may have affected why enough evidence to conclude that a panic was present was not assumed. Rolling was arrested two weeks after the last murder in Gainesville occurred and removed from everyday

51 society; he first emerged as a suspect only four months after the last murder took place. Had he remained a free man, things may have been different.

The term moral panic may not be a valid concept. The definition of the term varies according to different scholars and is open to much interpretation. The term may not be useful at all in determining what is or is not a moral panic due to the fact that scholars have not come to a consensus about a single definition constituting what a moral panic is. The term “moral panic” is elusive and without a clear, single definition of what it is, the term may not be effective way to determine what events fall into the moral panic category.

Several limitations connected to this research need to be addressed. First, this study only examined how The Gainesville Sun portrayed Danny Rolling’s murders. It cannot be assumed that other newspapers based in different cities in Florida or those published on a national level portrayed the murders in the same manner. It also is not known if such publications contained the elements of a moral panic on a level proportionate to The Gainesville Sun. Due to the fact that the analyzed newspaper articles originated from the community where the murders took place, and that the victims were students in the community, may have influenced how the murders were portrayed. The depiction of the crimes and victims may have been different in communities that had no tie to the city. This disconnect from where the murders occurred may have led to less of a panic in outlying communities than the one that was present in Gainesville.

Secondly, this study looked at one serial killer and the crimes he committed in one city.

No other serial killers in other communities were examined, thus the results of this study cannot be generalized to assume that all newspapers based in towns where serial killers had an effect presented the articles related to the case in the same way.

The use of law enforcement quotes as a measure of consensus may not always be the most reliable measure. Many problems in an investigation begin with law enforcement, such as when they focus on one person as a suspect and ignore evidence that may point towards someone else. In this way, the use of law enforcement quotes may not have been the most accurate measure of consensus. It was not determined whether The Gainesville Sun had an agreement with the law enforcement agencies regarding what to report. The newspaper may have agreed to leave certain information and facts about the case out of the articles that were published in order to avoid sensationalizing the crimes or feeding the development of a moral panic surrounding the murders.

Time constraints allowed for only one pass through the 506 articles. Had more time been permitted, the articles could have been read several times to enhance the validity of this study.

All of the articles were read and analyzed by one person. What one person believes is a comment expressing measurable concern or hostility, another may not. Inter-observer reliability was not used. Therefore, the coding was not verified by any other person to see if the same results would have been established after reading the same articles.

In this study, only newspaper articles were examined. It was not examined if elements of a moral panic related to the Rolling murders were presented differently or more prevalently on television newscasts. Had print articles and newscasts been examined together, a more accurate picture of how the media was depicting the murders would have been established.

Finally, the quality of measurable concern and hostile comments was not coded for.

While it is known if an article contained comments related to these emotions, it is not known if a hostile comment in an article was a demand for execution or someone voicing they were angry at

Rolling for what he had done. As with hostility, it is not known if an article in which measurable

53 concern was expressed mentioned that the individual felt scared or mentioned the new safety measures that were established after the murders occurred.

Future research should examine how the elements of a moral panic are portrayed in publications based outside of the vicinity of the murders committed by a serial killer. The effect serial killers have not only on the city where they reside, but also on areas farther away should be focused on to determine what, if any, impact they may be having on other communities.

Newscasts and publications should be looked at and analyzed together for moral panic components to allow for a more rounded view of the media’s depiction of the crimes. Finally, other serial killers and how their crimes are portrayed should be studied to see if the components of a moral panic are represented in those accounts.

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