Alferd Packer

Alferd Packer is one of the few people in the  to ever be jailed for , having allegedly killed and eaten five of his travelling companions while trapped in the  during fierce winter weather.
Alferd Packer is one of the few people in the US to ever be jailed for cannibalism, having allegedly killed and eaten five of his travelling companions while trapped in the Rocky Mountains during fierce winter weather.

Alferd Packer (November 21 1842April 23 1907) Template:Ref is popularly known as one of only two Americans ever imprisoned for cannibalism, alongside Albert Fish. First tried for murder, Packer was eventually sentenced to jail for 40 years after being convicted of manslaughter.Template:Ref

Contents

Packer's life

Packer was born in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. He served in the American Civil War, on the Union side presumably in an Iowa regiment, but was mustered out due to epilepsy.

In November, 1873, Packer was with a party of 21 who left Provo, Utah, bound for the Colorado gold country in Breckenridge. On January 21 of 1874, he met with Chief Ouray (known as the White Man's Friend) near Montrose, Colorado. Chief Ouray recommended they postpone their expedition until spring, as they were likely to encounter dangerous winter weather in the mountains. In spite of Ouray's advice, a party of six that included Packer left for Gunnison, Colorado on February 9.

At an unknown date, the party got hopelessly lost, ran out of provisions, and became snowbound in the Rocky Mountains. Packer allegedly went scouting and came back to discover one of his party roasting human meat. According to Packer, the man rushed him with a hatchet; Packer shot and killed him.

On March 6, 1874, Packer arrived alone at Los Pinos Indian Agency near Gunnison. He spent some time in a Saguache, Colorado bar, meeting several of his previous party. He initially claimed self-defense, but his story did not pass in court. During the trial, the judge said, "Damn you, Alferd Packer! There were seven Dimmycrats in Hinsdale County and you et five of them!" Packer signed a confession on May 8, 1874. He was jailed in Saguache, but escaped soon after, vanishing for several years.

On March 11, 1883, Packer was discovered in Cheyenne, Wyoming living under the alias of "John Schwartze." On March 16, he signed another confession. On April 6, 1883, a trial began in Lake City, Colorado, Hindsdale County. On the 13th, he was found guilty and sentenced to death. Packer managed to temporarily avoid punishment again: in October, 1885, the sentence was reversed by the Colorado Supreme Court on a grandfather clause. However, on August 6, 1886, Packer was sentenced to 40 years at a trial in Gunnison.

On June 19, 1899, Packer's sentence was upheld by the Colorado Supreme Court. However, he was paroled on February 8, 1901 and moved to Deer Creek, in Jefferson County, Colorado. He is widely rumored to have become a vegetarian before his death of reputed "Senility - trouble & worry" at the age of 64. He was buried in Littleton, Colorado and was formally pardoned of his crimes on March 5, 1981.

Not guilty?

Recent evidence suggests that Packer was a cannibal, but not a murderer. On July 17, 1989, 115 years after Packer consumed the humans, an exhumation of the five bodies was undertaken by James E. Starrs, then Professor of Law specializing in forensic science at George Washington University. Following an exhaustive search for the precise location of the remains at Cannibal Plateau in Lake City, Colorado, Starrs and his colleague Walter H. Birkby concluded "I don't think there will ever be any way to scientifically demonstrate cannibalism. Cannibalism per se is the ingestion of human flesh. So you'd have to have a picture of the guy actually eating."Template:Ref

Through some unexplained process, Packer's head, dissected and carefully preserved, has come to be in the possession of Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum in the French Quarter of New Orleans, where it is on permanent display.

Popular culture

Perhaps not surprisingly, considering his character, Packer enjoys a good bit of publicity in popular culture. He has been quoted in jest as having said "the breasts of man...are the sweetest meat I ever tasted". In 1968, the University of Colorado at Boulder named their new cafeteria grill the Alferd E. Packer Memorial Grill, and even today students can enjoy the meat-filled "El Canibal" underneath a giant wall map outlining his travels through Colorado. In 1982 the university dedicated a statue to Packer, and graduate Trey Parker, creator of South Park, made a student film, Cannibal! The Musical, based loosely on his life in 1993.

Folk-singer Phil Ochs composed a song about his life, included on "The Broadside Tapes 1". The singer C.W. McCall also wrote and sang a song about Packer called "Comin' Back for More".

A 1999 movie, Ravenous, appears to be loosely based on aspects of the Alferd Packer story.

Notes and references

Template:Note Packer sometimes signed his name as "Alferd", sometimes as "Alfred", and is referred to by both names. In many documents, he is referred to simply as A. Packer or Al Packer. Template:Note Nash, Robert Jay (1994). Alferd Packer. In Encyclopedia of Western Lawmen & Outlaws (http://www.google.com/print?id=rE2M3NojQj8C&dq=alferd+packer&oi=print&pg=250&prev=http%3A//print.google.com/print%3Fq%3Dalferd%2Bpacker&sig=Xaf7ylB7pWgbd1zKXSCYjYQd_TI&prev=http%3A//www.google.com/search%3Fq%3Dbook%2Balferd%2Bpacker%26sourceid%3Dmozilla-search%26start%3D0%26start%3D0%26ie%3Dutf-8%26oe%3Dutf-8%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official). Da Capo Press. pp. 250-251. ISBN 030680591X. Google Print. Retrieved April 13, 2005. Template:Note Grove, Lloyd (1989). Just How Many Democrats Did Al Packer Eat? GWU Professor Digs Into the Legend. The Washington Post.

External links

Template:Livedid:Alfred Packer

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