Serial Killer: Joseph Paul Franklin
When I travel, I typically add “Crime” as a point of interest at my destination. This is what I call “Crime Travel”. So, along with museums, restaurants, and all the normal travel sites, I will also look for crimes or infamous criminals that might have been in the area.
So, I was traveling to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and I decided to see if there were any serial killers or famous crimes in this river community.
What I discovered were a couple of crimes committed by a serial killer named Joseph Paul Franklin. James Clayton Vaughn was his real name.
He was born into a rough family, in Mobile, Alabama, where he was subjected to extreme abuse according to the defense testimony at his trial. It was also claimed that he was a borderline schizophrenic.
Franklin claimed that he was racially motivated in his crimes and that he wanted to start a race war. He associated himself with KKK and Neo-Nazi leaders in political action groups, and his crimes reflected this ideology.
He traveled the country committing his crimes, in what appeared to be a self-imposed race war, which he funded with armed robbery.
Here are a few of his crimes:
