Murderer completing Capella doctorate

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by Gert Potgieter, May 15, 2002.

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  1. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    I'm assuming that Capella waived the residency requirements, something they wouldn't even consider when I talked to them last year. I guess I'm at a disadvantage, having never kidnapped or murdered anyone. :mad:


    Bruce
     
  2. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    I've asked Capella how it was done.

    The only comparable case I know of is that of Douglas Dean (who writes the 'degrees for inmates' chapter of Bears' Guide, who earned his Ph.D. from the University of South Africa while serving 5 consecutive life sentences without possibility of parole in the Wisconsin state prison.
     
  3. me again

    me again Well-Known Member

    Please share with us their responce.

    After getting his Ph.D, did it make him smart enough to figure out how to get out of prison? ;) :p
     
  4. David Boyd

    David Boyd New Member

    Are the members of the dissertation committee traveling to the prison for the defense?

    To me, this is not an off-topic discussion. It deals with the policies and procedures of a major distance learning institution.
     
  5. Guest

    Guest Guest

    Don't get any ideas Bruce!

    North
     
  6. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    Me Again asks, regarding Douglas Dean: After getting his Ph.D, did it make him smart enough to figure out how to get out of prison?

    No . . . but a few years after he finished, the State of Hawaii had a worldwide contest to design a distance learning university for the state: everything from name and logo to curriculum and marketing. First prize was $5,000 and two weeks in Hawaii. Dean won it. Afterwards he said, wistfully, "If I'd had a computer, and could use a telephone, I'd have done a much better job."
     
  7. Guest

    Guest Guest

    From what I remember of what you posted regarding Dean's case I am surprised that he ended up in jail for the rest of his life. IIRC someone put acid in his drink and the murder was commited unknowingly.

    North
     
  8. Unisa has a history of serving people in prison. Including Nelson Mandela. Given the social and political milieu in which the university (as an Afrikaans institution) operated, their track record truly amazes me.
     
  9. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    I hate to come across as the token hard-ass, but IIRC, Dean's case was one of multiple murder. Claiming to not remember what you did because of drugs and/or alcohol is very convenient, but in my experience, juries don't often buy it.


    Bruce
     
  10. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    Dean has always acknowledged that he could have done it; he just doesn't think he did, especially since the victims include his girl friend and, I think, his mother. Each time he comes up for -- not parole, but reclassification to a medium security prison, the family of the victims are very public in their opposition. A Milwaukee paper's headline, in pre-Dahmer days, was "Wisconsin's worst mass murder is Wisconsin's best prisoner." He has apparently not had a single black mark against him in prison in 28 years. What a strange life. For many years, possibly still, everything he owns -- books, photos, clothes -- had to fit into a one cubic foot box, packed each night and taken from his cell until morning. No, I don't know why. I do know that after four years of work on his UNISA dissertation, a guard destroyed all his work and his notes, and he had to start over.
     
  11. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    This from a Dean at Capella.

    -----------------
    ...We waived his residency requirements. He met all the conference requirements by telephone and all of the coursework by directed study and sending hard copy to his tutors, since he was not allowed access to the internet. As I indicated to the reporter, he was an exceptionally good student . 
    -----------------

    A reminder of why there is a "Bending the Rules" chapter in Bears' Guide. It never hurts to ask.
     

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