Marketing Killer Pen Pals
Rich Jaffee, WKRC Local 12, December 2, 2004

Some people say corporations are going to far, just to make a buck. "I'm shocked that they would not recognize it and fix it in their system so they're not making money on the backs of victims."

Convicted killers in the Tri-State and around the county want you to write to them, send pictures, be their pen pals.

A major U.S. company is helping them, to a degree, which has some calling for a boycott of Amazon.com. In this exclusive story, Local 12 Reporter Rich Jaffe says some people believe there should be a limit to how far companies are willing to go in pursuit of the almighty dollar.

On internet sites such as the Canadian coalition against the death penalty, anyone can find names and addresses of convicted killers looking for pen pals. They're people like Jesse James Cowans He was sentenced in 1978 for strangling a Cincinnati man in a wheel chair. Three months after he was released in 1996, he killed widow Clara Swart in her Clermont County home.

Dave Swart, victim's son: "I had the opportunity to look in his eyes and my mother always said the eyes are the mirror to the soul, those eyes were clear and there didn't seem to be a soul there."

If you search the website that connects you with people like Cowans, you'll find it also connects you to Amazon.com. The death penalty site is just one of a number of such sites, partnered by Amazon. Just click, and you're connected to the best of the books about the killers. "To think that person's being comforted by someone, and not only being comforted, but somebody might be making money off of the victims who have been murdered by these individuals, they have to be outraged."

Tim Swart, victim's son: "Yeah it's amazing, very amazing that any company, anyone would want to be associated with that, it's far beyond me." "While on the one hand convicted killers are reaching out for pen pals and the human connection on the websites, and Amazon's trying to sell books through them, on the other hand, someone is also using the web, to try and stop all this. "

Bret Vinocur, a Columbus area victims' advocate, operates a website called findmissingkids.com.

Bret Vinocur, victim advocate: "It's an appalling thing, imagine knowing someone had murdered your family member and he's got a personal ad saying I need caring individuals who like hiking and camping?"

Vinocur wants people to boycott amazon, and force them to drop their killer associations. "It's blood money, you're making profit off killers who murdered people, how can you possibly make a profit off that?." These victim's agree. "I heard something one time that evil prevails, if good people remain silent, people have to speak up."

As a result of our story, Amazon. com is going to scrutinize some of the websites we've showed you. Patty Smith of Amazon tells us: 'We don't take a view on what the political or social perspectives are of the various web sites that are part of the program.' However, 'the associate's contract cannot advocate violence, illegal activities, or sexually explicit material.' We'll follow up with Amazon.com on this story for you.