Len Lawson
Encyclopedia
Leonard Keith Lawson better known as Len Lawson or Lennie Lawson, was a bestselling
Australia
n comic book creator
, successful commercial art
ist and photographer
, and a convicted
rapist
and murder
er.
Lawson first came to prominence as the author of The Lone Avenger, an Australian comic book hero whose adventures, published first in 1946, would sell up to 70,000 copies over the next decade.
In 1954, however, Lawson kidnapped, assaulted and raped five models. He was sentenced to death but had his sentence commuted to 14 years in prison. After his release in 1961, he raped and killed another model on 7 November 1962 and on the next day, took several hostages at the Sydney Church of England Girls' Grammar School, killing a 15-year old girl in the ensuing siege.
Sentenced to life imprisonment
, Lawson died in prison in November 2003.
Bestseller
A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on lists of currently top selling titles that are based on publishing industry and book trade figures and published by newspapers, magazines, or bookstore chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and...
Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n comic book creator
Comic book creator
A comic book creator is someone who creates a comic book or graphic novel.The production of a comic book by one of the major comic book companies in the U.S...
, successful commercial art
Commercial art
Commercial art is historically a subsector of creative services, referring to art created for commercial purposes, primarily advertising. The term has become increasingly anachronistic in favor of more contemporary terms such as graphic design and advertising art.Commercial art traditionally...
ist and photographer
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
, and a convicted
Conviction
In law, a conviction is the verdict that results when a court of law finds a defendant guilty of a crime.The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal . In Scotland and in the Netherlands, there can also be a verdict of "not proven", which counts as an acquittal...
rapist
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
and murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
er.
Lawson first came to prominence as the author of The Lone Avenger, an Australian comic book hero whose adventures, published first in 1946, would sell up to 70,000 copies over the next decade.
In 1954, however, Lawson kidnapped, assaulted and raped five models. He was sentenced to death but had his sentence commuted to 14 years in prison. After his release in 1961, he raped and killed another model on 7 November 1962 and on the next day, took several hostages at the Sydney Church of England Girls' Grammar School, killing a 15-year old girl in the ensuing siege.
Sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
, Lawson died in prison in November 2003.