Tuesday, April 15, 2014

"Reflections"

This section is a virtual "look" into the mind and madness of an insane man. Joseph E. Duncan III kidnapped, sexually assaulted and then murdered several children over a period of eight years and in four different states. He has been convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole in two states (Idaho and California) and has three Federal death sentences. He currently resides on Federal death row in Terre Haute, Indiana while his court appointed attorneys appeal on his behalf and against his wishes (Duncan himself has expressly rejected all appeals).

On July 2nd, 2005, in the early morning hours, Duncan was spotted at a Denny's restaurant in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, with eight year old Shasta. Shasta and her nine year old brother, Dylan, were the subject of an "Amber Alert" after three other members of their family were found bludgeoned to death in their home six weeks earlier. Duncan later confessed that he had entered the home while the family slept with the express intent of murdering the parents and kidnapping the children. He claims he wanted "revenge against society" for sending him to prison for twenty years for sexually assaulting a younger boy (fourteen year old) when he himself was only sixteen years old.

Duncan says he had an "epiphany" as he was seconds away from murdering Shasta, that caused him to stop what he was doing and drive the child back to Coeur d'Alene (over 100 miles from the Montana wilderness where he'd camped out with both children, and murdered Dylan just days before). Shasta later told police, after Duncan was arrested at the Denny's, that "Jet", as she called Duncan, was taking her home and turning himself in.

The "Reflections"-section of The Fifth Nail is a collection of Duncan's most intimate thoughts and reflections as he tries to sort out the madness, or sickness, that lead him to believe he had a "right to justice". Duncan makes no claim of understanding or justification for what he has done, and repeatedly insists on his profound ignorance and responsibility. He has said in court many times (while representing himself in order to prevent his attorneys from "distorting the truth" about what happened and why) that there is "no excuse" for what he did, and that he accepts responsibility for it, "to the death if necessary".

Duncan plead guilty unconditionally in Federal court (i.e. there was no "plea deal") against his attorney's advice. He also expressly refused to appeal his death sentences, not because he wants to die, but because "society must learn on its own what I have learned". (Duncan believes that an appeal would only serve to distract society from the truth of what it is doing, which he says is no different than what he was doing; seeking "false justice").

"Confessions"

Since his arrest in 2005, Duncan has openly confessed to anyone, including police and FBI officials, about anything he has been asked about, including several murders that Duncan was not even suspected for. This section of the Fifth Nail is a recording of many of these confessions, or "memories" as Duncan himself likes to call them. Duncan asserts that while he is being as honest as he can, and relaying his "memories" here with as little distortion as possible, his memory isn't perfect, and his subconscious mind also tends to interfere with what he remembers at times. However, we would like to point out that several police and FBI officials, not to mention numerous psychiatric and psychological experts (over ten and counting) have all testified in court that everything Duncan told them was honest and remarkably consistent with their investigations and other evidence. The lead investigator for the FBI testified that even when they checked small details, such as when the moon was full, it matched consistently with what Duncan "remembered".

This section is Duncan's honest confession of what he remembers, from childhood up to his arrest, and since, as it relates to his attempt to "expose" the truth.

Sunday, April 13, 2014

"Dreams"

Joseph Duncan is one of those lucky people who has bizarrely complex and incredibly detailed dream experiences, including frequent lucid dreams in which he is aware he is dreaming during the dream.

Duncan records and reports his dreams for the same reason he does his other thoughts and memories, to expose who and what he is to anyone who cares to see. He believes as Carl Jung taught, that dreams are not just a window to a man's soul, but to the soul of the world (and society) he comes from as well.

So by relaying his dreams as honestly and openly as he can here, Duncan hopes to let the world know that we are watching, and learning, and healing, together, through our dreams, and through the great dream we call reality. All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream after all, and it is only the dreamer that persists. It is also only the dreamer that ultimately determines the dream. While we are awake, or while we are asleep, the dreamer prevails.

"If all that we see or seem Is but a dream within a dream The only answer we need seek Is who we are when not asleep!"

"Chronicles"

A lot of people are curious about the day to day experience of someone like Joseph Duncan who lives on death row in Federal prison. So this section takes inscribed snapshots of Duncan's daily experiences and puts them here for all to see. This section is also the best place to come for Duncan's views on the latest status of his attorney's appeals of the death sentence and other matters.

"Letters"

This section contains a miscellaneous collection of letters written by Joseph Duncan that are either undeliverable for various reasons, or of interest to more than the intended recipiant (e.g. letters to the court, etc.). It may also contain factual documents, such as prison memos or legal materials, that don't quite fit anywhere else in this blog.

"Books"

This is a list of books read recently (2010 to date) by Joseph Duncan. The list is not meant to serve as a critique of the books Duncan has read, though he does often express his opinion about them. He frequently insists that these opinions are his own and admits they are based solely on his limited and often ignorant views. So, once more we provide this information not to propagate Duncan's viewpoints, but only to expose them according to the overall theme of this blog.

"Inquiry"

Joseph Duncan is asked a lot of questions by a lot of people, and though he has never responded to questions from the professional media (because he feels their motives are counter to truth and understanding - i.e. it's simply not profitable to make people think for themselves by giving them unfiltered and unbiased information, so the media "packages" their stories the same way other companies package their products so their consumers need to think as little as possible about what they are buying). Duncan does feel it is crucial for him to answer legitimate questions so he himself does not fall into the trap of only telling people what he thinks they should know.

So the "Inquiry"-section is provided as a means of addressing questions from various sources, answering them as honestly and concisely as possible, as well as directing the content of other sections of this blog. We are open to all questions and suggestions, which can be either posted as comments, or mailed directly to Joseph Duncan (see "Contacting Joseph Duncan" below). Questions are selected according to sincerity and relevance to the theme of this blog (i.e. exposing the inner truth of our experiences together). Duncan chooses which questions to answer here himself, and that choice is often hampered by resource constraints (mostly time and effort), though he tells us that he often picks the questions he doesn't want to answer because he feels those are typically the most important.

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Contacting Joseph Duncan

Joseph Duncan, the primary author of this blog, is currently confined on Federal death row at the US Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana. Because of the national (and international) media coverage of his crimes he receives a lot of mail from people he doesn't know which is mostly supportive. He says he reads all of his mail, but cannot always respond.

If you have questions, or any other concerns, then you can write Duncan at the address below. But, please send letters only (no stamps, money, or other items which are not allowed). The address is:

Joseph Duncan, USP 12561-023 SCU Po Box 33 Terre Haute, IN 47808

For more information visit the Federal Bureau of Prisons website:

http://www.bop.gov/inmates/communications.jsp

(note: Duncan is currently not permitted access to the prisoner e-mail "TRULINCS" system because of "legitimate penological interests" as determined by prison officials)