Posted on 11/19/2004 6:03:46 AM PST by Kokojmudd
Students are told of '55 slaying By Eric Swedlund ARIZONA DAILY STAR
A UA professor on Tuesday made a startling announcement to his students about how he shot and killed a college classmate 50 years ago.
Robert B. Bechtel, an environmental psychology professor since 1976, spoke publicly for the first time about his retaliation for increasingly harsh bullying, being declared incurably insane and finally being acquitted of murder.
Bechtel was a 22-year-old student at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania when he killed an 18-year-old student in their dormitory. He told his two classes about the shooting Tuesday, two weeks after disclosing it for the first time to his University of Arizona superiors and administrators.
He said the story is one of redemption, but more importantly one that illustrates the deep and wide-ranging consequences of bullying. Bechtel is finally speaking in an attempt to halt the culture of bullying, he said in an interview at his Northwest Side home Thursday.
"People don't understand how easy it is to destroy young lives. I didn't put it together for 40 years," he said. "What people need to learn about is the complete isolation of bullying. It's not just one kid hitting or kicking another. The whipping boy is hit by people while others just stand around. That's where the real harm comes. The person being bullied sees the whole world against him. He's totally isolated."
Many university officials and students said they were shocked that Bechtel could have killed somebody, but that speaking publicly about the shooting is courageous and could have an impact on bullying.
Alfred Kaszniak, head of the psychology department, said Bechtel told him about the killing earlier this month and talked about his decision to disclose his past.
"It's important to help bring to light the enormous consequences of bullying and the risks for recipients and the bullies themselves. This is a very, very significant problem," he said.
Kaszniak said Bechtel's message is "the sense that redemption and changing the direction of one's life is possible. His history is witness to that."
"His record the entire time he has been here and prior to that in his professional life as a psychologist has been absolutely exemplary," Kaszniak said. "I have known him to be nothing but kind, gentle, considerate and a model faculty member."
UA President Peter Likins said that in the 50 years since the shooting, Bechtel has transformed his life and "ultimately triumphed."
"To me, it's a very human story and it is not something we have any reason to be upset or alarmed about," he said.
Psychology junior Deanna Ortiz was in Bechtel's 8 a.m. class Tuesday and said the students were initially shocked into silence, but then started asking questions.
"They really wanted to know his feelings, his emotions, what was going through his mind when the incident occurred," she said. "I thanked him for opening up to us, for sharing such a private part of his life. He's very inspirational person. He's very courageous to share something that was so personal to him."
Provost George Davis doesn't know Bechtel, but said the story about what he did was "really, really jarring," especially coming only two years after three UA professors were shot and killed by a failing student who then killed himself in the College of Nursing.
But Davis said Bechtel has "gone through the courts" and the matter is "past history."
Was a student proctor in dorm
As a student proctor charged with keeping Swarthmore dormitory students in line, Bechtel said he faced constant taunts and abuse, including having his bed dragged outside and repeatedly urinated on by other students. He thought the winter break would ease the tensions, but the bullying got worse.
On Jan. 12, 1955, Bechtel suddenly decided he'd had enough and that he had to take care of the problem. He brought a gun to the dormitory, intending to shoot the bullies.
"I was going to wipe them out," he said. "I only shot one then gave the whole thing up. I had the sensation of a hand grabbing my heart and that was the end."
Bechtel entered one room and fatally shot 18-year-old Francis Holmes Strozier, one of those who had bullied him, then fired five shots into a hall closet. He woke up another student and turned himself in to police.
"I thought that I was thinking clearly. I think I had to shut down my feelings to keep from being paralyzed," he said. "I thought it was the right thing to do at the time, but once I fired that shot, I gave the whole thing up. Not only was it wrong, it was terrifying."
Bechtel said he had thought of trying to transfer before the shooting, but gave up because he'd never been able to escape bullying before. He talked to a dean, but told him the problem wasn't out of control.
"There I was, never thinking what it was going to do to my mother. I was insane; I didn't know the difference between right and wrong. I thought my mom would be happy I was rid of the bullies," he said.
While jailed for the shooting, Bechtel said a psychiatrist determined he was insane. A psychiatrist for the prosecution and a commission agreed, declaring him incurably insane.
He was ordered to Fairview State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, for the rest of his life. He initially spent time feeling sorry for himself, but work in the print shop started changing his attitude.
"I realized the difference between heaven and hell is that in heaven, they help each other. This was hell and the way to turn it around was to start helping people," he said.
Bechtel started a school, teaching other patients. He accepted the fact that he would remain there for his whole life, but was determined to make that life meaningful, even in an insane asylum.
He stayed for nearly five years before another evaluation determined he could be released. He was sent back to jail and stood trial for the murder, but was found not guilty by reason of insanity in January of 1960 and released. Strozier's parents had written Bechtel a letter, saying they forgive him.
"I think in many ways he was a better person than I was. Who knows what he could have contributed to the world?" he said. "It weighs on me forever."
Bechtel has saved newspaper clippings of his past, with headlines such as "Pottstonian Faces Trial For 1955 Frenzy Killing" and "Robert Bechtel, 22, Surrenders in Swarthmore 'Rage' Murder."
Returned to school after acquittal
Bechtel returned to school, studying at Susquehanna University and then the University of Kansas, where he received his doctorate in 1967. When he applied at the UA he said it didn't seem necessary, nor was it required, to mention the shooting, already 20 years in the past.
UA officials don't expect Bechtel will face any personnel actions because of the incident.
He met his wife in Kansas City, Mo., where they worked together, and told her about the killing on their third date, saying she was "properly paralyzed and shocked, but accepted it."
"When Bob told me I didn't cry. I was numb," said Beverly Bechtel. Thirty-three years later, she said it's time to tell the story.
"I feel very raw and very naked, but I'm willing to do it. I want to do something about how kids are treated and how all people are treated," she said.
Their daughter, Carrah, said when she heard of the shooting, it separated her life into two parts, 19 years before she knew and now 11 since.
"It ruined everything about my entire life," she said. "It's been very painful but also enriching. There are days I wish I had a different father, but there are days I know I had him for a reason."
Bechtel is the subject of a Discovery Channel documentary, examining the bullying in his life and the shooting, said director Macky Alston. The documentary is scheduled to air in 2006. "Our mission is very in sync with Bob's mission, to focus great attention on the problem of bullying," he said.
Bechtel started writing a book about his experiences in 1993 and hopes to finish it in time to coordinate a release with the documentary, which will include him talking to the classes.
No one here knows. Psychology is broken up into lots of odd little subdisciplines. It might be something sensible like researching the way one's environment (physical and social) affect one's emotions, thoughts, behaviors and attitudes; or something flaky and tree-hugging. The only way to tell is to look up some environmental psychologists papers and read the abstracts.
Hard to believe? Swarthmore? Isn't that where that young man from the Bronx, the scholarship student, harassed the coed? I think he eventually had to leave, transferred to BU or BC but only lasted a semester. Of course he later sued.
Had to mention this. My eldest son was in third grade years ago, small MA. town. He was 'different'(ended up going to MIT at 15), so bullied unmercifully.
Finally I got a book on judo and taught him a few moves, which he put into practice the next day. Imagine a mud puddle, bully tossed into same. I got a call from the school principal. How dare I teach my son violence? I said he was defending himself, that if they didn't have a playground monitor to stop bullies, my son would have to rely on himself. I was told to have compassion for the other kids, who were going through a tough time...divorces, whatever at home.
A few years passed, I'd put my son in private school by then, and suddenly the school board underwent a change of heart. No more bullying tolerated. They even sent out a notice townwide. This was years before Columbine, but the authorities discovered bullies disrupt classrooms, break things, and make it difficult for others to learn. Once property damage was involved, $$$, and the superintendent made the connection between falling SAT scores and whether he got hired again, the school system laid down the law about bullying.
The presidential candidate. The story is told in Paul Harvey's book, "The Rest of the Story" and in other refs as well, I believe. I can't remember all the details but I believe it occured during an older sister's birthday party. It was not intentional, but not exactly an "accident" either.
And also, in my case, I was not bullied by anyone else either. This very much applies to current events, as well.
All the people yammering about the fact that we went to war with Saddam because of WMD or whatever, completely ignore that there is a great strategic value in just sending a message.
And the message was not just meant for Saddam.
It is not the professor's fault the system is so weak. He DID pay the debt society asked him to pay; he should not be troubled any more about it.
The forgiveness from the victim's parents is theirs alone to give -- not his to ask, of course, nor anyone else's to criticize.
His story of personal change may indeed be accurate in important ways. One of the details that rings true is his decision to help other people and the mental health that decision produced. Most people who are wacko are self-absorbed; what they need is not more talk about their feelings but to get over themselves and go wash the car or focus on fulfilling their duties of love to other people. Of course, this turning point refutes most of what many psychologists do; it wasn't therapy that changed him. People change by choosing to love more. Most people seldom make that choice.
None of this changes the fact that the SYSTEM's response was horrendous. I doubt he was any more "insane" then than he is now. 5 years in the loony bin would certainly not satisfy my sense of justice if it had been my son he shot.
The professor certainly has exhibited a desire to be better. Good for him. By all evidence, he seems even repentant. Talking about it probably makes him feel better.
But "redemption" is a quite specific Christian truth. It is not a general word for "turning your life around". There is no redemption in this story.
Actually, he killed a girl when he was 12. At a Christmas party no less.
He was asked to return the gun to the attic, when he imitated a move or something that he had seen an older boy do... and BANG.
Democrat ADLAI STEVENSON was governor of Illinois (1949-53) and presidential candidate against Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956, then ambassador to the United Nations under President John F. Kennedy. In 1913, just before his 13th birthday, Stevenson was handling a .22 caliber rifle at a Christmas party and the gun went off, killing 12-year-old Ruth Merwin. The shooting was ruled accidental and no charges were ever filed against him. According to biographer Porter McKeever, Stevenson was asked by a reporter in 1952 about the incident, but the childhood tragedy was never widely reported by the press.
You are 100% correct on that point. Quaddafhi (sp?) certainly got that message loud and clear and Libya is no longer the great threat that it was in the past.
"As a student proctor charged with keeping Swarthmore dormitory students in line, Bechtel said he faced constant taunts and abuse, including having his bed dragged outside and repeatedly urinated on by other students."
Second he was an 18 year old kid.
He was a grown man, who chose to assault someone else for fun. It is not surprising that his victim ended up killing him.
Your point about Swarthmore being a Quaker college is well-taken. I never would have thought of it as a jock school or one that would attract weekend drunks and toughs.
More than that, he was willing to risk everything to keep someone else from making the same bad choice.
Sin, redemption, and bearing witness...
Bingo!
This was in the 50s. I went to a Quaker college in the 60s, and there were plenty of jocks. I'm just surprised by the extent of the bullying. I've never been anywhere that didn't have someone who was verbally taunted.
Yup. I choose to believe that he is a 'changed man'.
What's the story behind that one? Sounds interesting.
Your observation about psychologists has a great deal of emperical validity.
I would point out, however, that St. Moses the Black, one of the notable monastic fathers of the second generation of Christian monastics was a repentent murderer. And St. Moses murder was a mad whim, and lacked even such thin justification as vengance for bullying might provide.
I cannot speak about the professor in question, but I think we could all use a mentor with the depth of penitence St. Moses exhibited.
The judgement ye give will be the judgement ye receive,
said Our Lord who also equated anger with murder.
See post 68. It was a girl he killed.
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