Alabama tragedy could have been averted

Community members were shocked when three University of Alabama professors were shot and killed Feb. 12, allegedly by co-worker and biology professor Amy Bishop.

But when reports of Bishop's violent past surfaced over the last few weeks, shock turned to outrage. Now the nation is trying to figure out why Bishop's behavior was never confronted.

here were at least two incidents during the 44-year-old Harvard graduate's life that law enforcement officials failed to address, choosing to simply ignore a clearly deranged individual.

Of course it is easy to pass judgment on Bishop now. Three people are dead and three more are seriously injured. But this isn't the first time Bishop killed someone.

Twenty four years ago, Bishop shot and killed her 18-year-old brother. The death was ruled an accident when Bishop's mother said he was shot while Bishop learned to load the family shotgun. But there were other charges that could have been made against Bishop, who police found outside of a car dealership with the loaded shotgun on that fatal day in 1986.

If Braintree, Mass. police had arrested her for carrying a dangerous weapon and unlawful possession of ammunition, it would have shown up in a university background check, possibly saving the lives of three innocent professors.

Law enforcement officers should learn from Bishop's case that giving violent individuals a break only tells them it is acceptable to act similarly in the future.

And Bishop did. In 1993, Bishop was questioned in an attempted pipe bombing against a former colleague she worked with as a Harvard professor.

And in 2002, she admitted to striking another mother in an IHOP while fighting over a booster seat. After staying out of trouble for six months, assault charges were dismissed.

Bishop paid no consequences for the booster seat incident. If the judge had sentenced Bishop to anger management, she could have learned how to control her violent tendencies.

Some University of Alabama students did take a stand, submitting a petition against Bishop to biology department chairman Gopi K. Podila. They said Bishop taught by reading directly out of the book, never made eye contact and constantly reminded them that she went to Harvard.

Students spend a lot of time listening and watching their professors each week. The voices of concerned students should have been heeded instead of ignored. Unfortunately, Podila was one of the three victims.

If just one of the police officers, judges or colleagues that knew Bishop had taken the time to observe her unusual behavior and say something, three lives might have been saved.
 

Steve Thompson is a junior journalism major. He can be reached for comment at
sthompson@smu.edu.