Talk:Anthony Sowell

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Cuyahoga madman

i see no mention of anything on the internet referring to him as the cuyahoga madman. where is this from?128.237.238.129 (talk) 03:11, 5 November 2009 (UTC)

I live in Akron, and over the last three days, the news has been calling this the Imperial Avenue Murders. That is all I've seen as far as a name for this killer. wkcy.com has a lot of articles that state the case is called The Imperial Ave. Murders. Leviathanlover (talk) 15:27, 9 November 2009 (UTC)

Victims

On the Jeffrey Dahmer page, there is a table of known victims. I have created a table for this page, as further victims will likely be identified.THD3 (talk) 17:49, 5 November 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for creating a table of victims. I just want to add that I think it's a little offensive to repeatedly mention each victim's history of drug abuse. These women were the victims here. I am a woman with a history of drug abuse and I have been clean for over ten years. If my history of drug abuse was mentioned in the bio of my killer, I would be very hurt. 24.68.9.139 (talk) 06:29, 23 July 2011 (UTC)

Technically you would be dead so no you wouldn't, but I see your point. Those details are not in the table, but do appear in the text. It is common when writing about crimes to add some details about the background of the victims as it can explain how they became victims. – ukexpat (talk) 16:05, 25 July 2011 (UTC)

Rapist

IReallyLikeCheese changed rapist to attempted rapist, but I think he was actually convicted of rape in 1989, wasn't he? He probably should have been convicted of attempted murder as well, but I think he really did rape the poor woman. She only survived the murder attempt. She didn't avoid the rape attempt. -ErinHowarth (talk) 21:40, 5 November 2009 (UTC)

The 1989 conviction was for rape, not attempted rape. Sowell was convicted in 1990 and sentenced to 15 years. The crime was so vicious Sowell was denied early parole. The attempted rape was in 2009. I have corrected the page.THD3 (talk) 21:52, 5 November 2009 (UTC)

That is incorrect. In 1989 he was convicted of attempted rape, it is even in the article that is cited. Please read more carefully before changing things. The article clearly states "The suspect, who spent 15 years in jail for attempted rape, was arrested on Saturday not far from his home." I didn't add the citation, it was already there. I just made the entry match what was cited to begin with. The vast majorty of information says he was plead guilty to and was convicted of attempted rape. I am guessing this is due to a plea bargain and he was most likely originally accused of rape rather than attempted rape.IReallyLikeCheese (talk) 22:05, 5 November 2009 (UTC)

Not all of the citations refer to an attempted rape. Plenty of sources refer to it as simply rape. Do men really serve 15 years fro attempted rape. it doesn't sound like much a plea bargain to me, but I don't know how to get to the bottom of it. The most reliable source would be court documents from 1989. Trial transcripts are public records, but they are not easily available online. -ErinHowarth (talk) 22:55, 5 November 2009 (UTC)

I agree that it is unclear which is correct, and yes 15 years does seem like a lot, but I do not have any first hand experience with attempted rape (or rape) charges. It seems to me that until it is cleared up, via the records you have mentioned or another source citing those records, attempted rape should be used. IReallyLikeCheese (talk) 23:33, 5 November 2009 (UTC)

I altered the article to reflect that he pleaded guilty to attempted rape, to reflect that the crime had to do with an actual rape that he pleaded down to a lesser charge. The way it was worded before made it seem like he had only attempted a rape; now, it just says what he pleaded guilty to, with less ambiguity. Angryapathy (talk) 17:41, 6 November 2009 (UTC)

Perfect, thanks. IReallyLikeCheese (talk) 17:48, 6 November 2009 (UTC)

Possible further cases

Police are now reopening cold murder cases from the late 1980s which ended when Sowell was arrested.THD3 (talk) 13:14, 6 November 2009 (UTC)

Opening sentence

The opening sentence of this bio seems to me to be out of place. I suggested we open with "Anthony Sowell is a suspected serial killer..." but was reverted. I fail to see how in the lead of this article, noting that he lives in Ohio and is a former Marine is so important to be mentioned in the lead. Those facts are mentioned later in the article. I suggest the first sentance be, "Anthony Sowell is a suspected serial killer from Ohio," with the rest of the info reworked into the lead. For reference, see the first line of Jeffery Dahmer and John Wayne Gacy, which mention their status as serial killers. I think this follows the MoS at MOS:BEGIN: "The article should begin with a declarative sentence, answering two questions for the nonspecialist reader: "What (or who) is the subject?" and "Why is this subject notable?" " When someone reads this article, the first sentence should immediately give the reader the main subject of the article, and that is not his Ohio residency. Angryapathy (talk) 14:47, 9 November 2009 (UTC)

I completely agree with this. Leviathanlover (talk) 15:27, 9 November 2009 (UTC)

I also concur.THD3 (talk) 16:05, 9 November 2009 (UTC)

Agree, if he were just a Marine from Ohio, we wouldn't be writing about him. -ErinHowarth (talk) 04:53, 10 November 2009 (UTC)

Any other convictions?

Is one count of attempted rape his only conviction? Jim Michael (talk) 15:50, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Redirects

User:Pistachio disguisey has been redirecting this page to Imperial Avenue Murders. This makes absolutely no sense.

• The article is a BLP of Anthony Sowell, who is, at present, accused of murder. Accused, not convicted.
• Biographical articles generally go under the subject's name.

Further, User:Pistachio disguisey's redirects were made without any attempt to gain consensus on this talk page, a breach of good faith. This page should remain under Sowell's name until such time, if any, consensus is reached to change it.THD3 (talk) 16:08, 1 June 2010 (UTC)

I agree with you, as the article stands at the moment. Moving to either of those titles with the text of the article still focussing on the alleged killer is a BLP issue as it implies that he is the killer rather than the alleged killer. However, if the article is rewritten to focus on the murders as opposed to the suspect, then the move may be appropriate. – ukexpat (talk) 16:23, 1 June 2010 (UTC)

It may be more prudent to hold off on any redirect until the trial has concluded.THD3 (talk) 16:43, 1 June 2010 (UTC)

The page is now move protected, and PD aimed this at me while showing up at Stephen Griffiths's AfD to violate WP:CANVASS. If PD starts a consensus discussion here, we might have to watch for voters wandering over from Griffiths's AfD. Şłџğģő 00:14, 2 June 2010 (UTC)

25 minutes before the message above, SluggoOne posted on my talkpage telling me not to take things personally. Why on earth would I do that? Oh yeah, maybe because prior to my comments, these were aimed at me:

"Of course, PD moved it" - snide comment

"largely incoherent" - attack on my editing style

"I just moved it back" - asserting supposed authority

"PD is not part of this conversation" - snide comment

"I should flag down an admin" - a threat

If I had posted any of this, I would have been warned for invicility. I might not have an encyclopaedic knowledge of Wikipedia rules like you do, but the evidence is there for everyone to see on my talkpage. You say one thing to me, another behind my back. You win. Thanks for wrecking my day. Pistachio disguisey (talk) 01:44, 2 June 2010 (UTC)

If it's an American serial killer, don't try to redirect it to a nickname. Other than that, you're a drama junkie (and you can go here to report me) and, since your various problematic moves are no longer possible (yup), I believe we're done here. Şłџğģő 06:04, 2 June 2010 (UTC)

External links modified

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Death

Sowell, 61, was incarcerated at the Chillicothe Correctional Institution. A spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Corrections said he was receiving end-of-life care at the Franklin Medical Center for a terminal illness. He died Monday afternoon. It was not COVID-19 related. JaysonD (talk) 03:33, 9 February 2021 (UTC)