Moreover, since Kahan’s laws focus on profits above market value, for example, a convicted serial killer can sell his Nike hat for $10, but not $1,000 because the additional money derives from the “notoriety” of his crimes. But art and assessed value is a gray area.
Some argue the law’s broad scope further punishes people in prison. “People who are convicted of committing murder are easy to vilify,” criminal defense attorney, William R. Bickerton said. “That vilification makes it easy to co-sign laws that go too far in punishing or restricting that defendant. A lot of the discourse around Son of Sam laws tends to overlook the fact that the First Amendment also protects the right to receive information.
Legal and financial issues aside, the desire for murderabilia reflects a broader cultural obsession with crime, cannibals, necrophiliacs, and mass shooters. True crime podcasts, books, and what seems like an endless stream of films and documentaries about notorious killers have boomed in recent years. From the
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