Craig Price
Encyclopedia
Craig Price is a serial killer
from Warwick, Rhode Island
. He was arrested in 1989 for four murders committed in his neighborhood: A woman and her two daughters that year, and the murder of another woman two years prior. He had a previous criminal record for petty theft.
After he was discovered, Price calmly confessed to his crimes. Arrested a month before his 16th birthday, he was tried and convicted as a minor
. By law, this meant that he would be released and his criminal records sealed as soon as he turned 21. Price bragged that he would "make history" when he was released. The case led to changes in state law to allow juveniles to be tried as adults for serious crimes, but these could not be applied retroactively
to Price.
Due to the brutality of his crimes and the opinion of state psychologists
that he was a poor candidate for rehabilitation, a group called Citizens Opposed to the Release of Craig Price formed to lobby for his continued imprisonment. Price was charged with a variety of crimes, including criminal contempt
for refusing a psychological evaluation
, extortion
for threatening a corrections officer, assault
, and violation of probation
for fights while in prison. He was sentenced to an additional 10–25 years, depending on his cooperation with treatment.
Price maintains that he has paid his debt to society, and that he is being kept in jail partially due to racism
.
. Price was denied parole in March 2009 and his current release date is in May 2020.
On September 1, 1989, Price was a 15-year-old freshmen in high school when he murdered three other neighbors. Price, high on marijuana
and LSD, stabbed 39-year-old Joan Heaton 11 times; her 10-year-old daughter Jennifer 62 times; and crushed the skull of her 8-year-old daughter Melissa. Their wounds were so deep that the knives actually broke off the handles into the bodies of the victims. At the time, the brutality of the murders was mostly unknown due to his sealed records. According to law-enforcement officials, Price had no remorse when confessing to the crimes.
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
from Warwick, Rhode Island
Warwick, Rhode Island
Warwick is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. It is the second largest city in the state, with a population of 82,672 at the 2010 census. Its mayor has been Scott Avedisian since 2000...
. He was arrested in 1989 for four murders committed in his neighborhood: A woman and her two daughters that year, and the murder of another woman two years prior. He had a previous criminal record for petty theft.
After he was discovered, Price calmly confessed to his crimes. Arrested a month before his 16th birthday, he was tried and convicted as a minor
Minor (law)
In law, a minor is a person under a certain age — the age of majority — which legally demarcates childhood from adulthood; the age depends upon jurisdiction and application, but is typically 18...
. By law, this meant that he would be released and his criminal records sealed as soon as he turned 21. Price bragged that he would "make history" when he was released. The case led to changes in state law to allow juveniles to be tried as adults for serious crimes, but these could not be applied retroactively
Ex post facto law
An ex post facto law or retroactive law is a law that retroactively changes the legal consequences of actions committed or relationships that existed prior to the enactment of the law...
to Price.
Due to the brutality of his crimes and the opinion of state psychologists
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
that he was a poor candidate for rehabilitation, a group called Citizens Opposed to the Release of Craig Price formed to lobby for his continued imprisonment. Price was charged with a variety of crimes, including criminal contempt
Contempt of court
Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...
for refusing a psychological evaluation
Psychological evaluation
A psychological evaluation or mental examination is an examination into a person's mental health by a mental health professional such as a psychologist. A psychological evaluation may result in a diagnosis of a mental illness...
, extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
for threatening a corrections officer, assault
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
, and violation of probation
Probation
Probation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...
for fights while in prison. He was sentenced to an additional 10–25 years, depending on his cooperation with treatment.
Price maintains that he has paid his debt to society, and that he is being kept in jail partially due to racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
.
Prison violence
On July 29, 2009, Price was involved in a prison fight with another inmate. While trying to break up the fight, one of the correctional officers was stabbed in the finger by a handmade shank in Price's possession. In the wake of the prison fight, Price has been transferred to another facility. An officer from the Rhode Island Department of Corrections said Price has been booked twice for fighting since leaving the Adult Correctional Institutions in CranstonCranston, Rhode Island
Cranston, once known as Pawtuxet, is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. With a population of 80,387 at the 2010 census, it is the third largest city in the state. The center of population of Rhode Island is located in Cranston...
. Price was denied parole in March 2009 and his current release date is in May 2020.
Detail of his two murders
It was the night of July 27, 1987 when 13-year-old Craig Price committed his murders. In Warwick, Rhode Island, Price broke into a home that was only two houses away from his own. He took a knife from the kitchen and stabbed 27-year-old Rebecca Spencer 58 times, killing her.On September 1, 1989, Price was a 15-year-old freshmen in high school when he murdered three other neighbors. Price, high on marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
and LSD, stabbed 39-year-old Joan Heaton 11 times; her 10-year-old daughter Jennifer 62 times; and crushed the skull of her 8-year-old daughter Melissa. Their wounds were so deep that the knives actually broke off the handles into the bodies of the victims. At the time, the brutality of the murders was mostly unknown due to his sealed records. According to law-enforcement officials, Price had no remorse when confessing to the crimes.