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Mitchell Rupe
Feb. 8th, 2006 09:41 amAs some of you know, I have been a Play By Mail gamer for many years. (For those of you who don't know the idea, your GameMaster is in a central location and you fill out turn sheets which are processed by a given date and then mailed back out again... they are as wide ranging as Role Playing Games for the table, MMOGs such as NEVERWINTER NIGHTS or CITY OF HEROES, or even the modern PBM variant of Play by e-Mail called PBeM).
Anyway, while I was playing a game in college that didn't last long (and through which I also met my ex-fiance), at one point I needed to strike an alliance. It turned out that the player behind the group in question was one Mitchell Rupe who was currently behind bars. That in itself was not a problem for me initially, as my father had dealt successfully for a while in a different game with another inmate apparently in for life who was remorseful of his crimes. Mitchell had a rough reputation in the PBM world but I thought perhaps that had been what he needed to be in his various games, part of the roleplay, and was willing to at least see what might be required. After all, I needed the alliance.
What I did not know and one day just happened to find out on the evening news was that this same Mitchell Rupe (or Mitch Rupe, as I knew him as) was on Death Row for shooting two people and trying to appeal the death penalty. I must say, that being in my early 20s, it rocked my world. I was corresponding with a convicted killer on Death Row and didn't know it.
Mitchell clearly showed a strong ability for strategy and tactics when I dealt with him, and he was known for being ruthless and underhanded in the PBM community. I don't know how much of that translated into his real life, but you are talking about a man who was able to murder two people in cold blood here. At the time, looking at his argument to the courts that he was too obese to hang and how he went about it, Mitchell showed all his "ultimate gamer" skills to the core. At least that's how I remember seeing it.
Frankly I don't recall if I ceased contact with Mitchell first or if the game ended first, it had funding issues and didn't last all that much longer. A lot of other things unfolded at that point which I am not at liberty to discuss, mainly surrounding the ex-fiance. I do remember being so scared out of my mind that I went to the college library microfilm and looked up everything I could about the crime and the trial. I had to know who I was dealing with.
What brought all this up is that my sister sent me word that Mitchell Rupe, after being able to be retried and end up with a jury that could not reconvict him for death, died of illness in prison.
http://www.komotv.com/stories/41740.htm
or
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002790683_webrupe07.html?syndication=rss
I don't know how I feel about the fact the death penalty was never carried out on this guy. But I am glad his victim's families have finally seen some measure of relief.
For the record, I have met many wonderful people through PBM over the years, some of which have made tremendous impacts on my life and that of my family, such as the late and still dearly missed Jim Chapin. But Mitchell Rupe was an experience I could have done without.
Though it is a relief to finally talk about it all these years later, knowing that he's gone. It's weird because odds are I never would have encountered him again, but still, as some of the victim's family members said in the article, even they had that shred of doubt in the justice system. Not to the same degree, obviously, but I understand.
Now to crawl back into bed. Home sick today with muscle aches and chills on a relatively warm day. Typing has not helped warm my fingers.
Anyway, while I was playing a game in college that didn't last long (and through which I also met my ex-fiance), at one point I needed to strike an alliance. It turned out that the player behind the group in question was one Mitchell Rupe who was currently behind bars. That in itself was not a problem for me initially, as my father had dealt successfully for a while in a different game with another inmate apparently in for life who was remorseful of his crimes. Mitchell had a rough reputation in the PBM world but I thought perhaps that had been what he needed to be in his various games, part of the roleplay, and was willing to at least see what might be required. After all, I needed the alliance.
What I did not know and one day just happened to find out on the evening news was that this same Mitchell Rupe (or Mitch Rupe, as I knew him as) was on Death Row for shooting two people and trying to appeal the death penalty. I must say, that being in my early 20s, it rocked my world. I was corresponding with a convicted killer on Death Row and didn't know it.
Mitchell clearly showed a strong ability for strategy and tactics when I dealt with him, and he was known for being ruthless and underhanded in the PBM community. I don't know how much of that translated into his real life, but you are talking about a man who was able to murder two people in cold blood here. At the time, looking at his argument to the courts that he was too obese to hang and how he went about it, Mitchell showed all his "ultimate gamer" skills to the core. At least that's how I remember seeing it.
Frankly I don't recall if I ceased contact with Mitchell first or if the game ended first, it had funding issues and didn't last all that much longer. A lot of other things unfolded at that point which I am not at liberty to discuss, mainly surrounding the ex-fiance. I do remember being so scared out of my mind that I went to the college library microfilm and looked up everything I could about the crime and the trial. I had to know who I was dealing with.
What brought all this up is that my sister sent me word that Mitchell Rupe, after being able to be retried and end up with a jury that could not reconvict him for death, died of illness in prison.
http://www.komotv.com/stories/41740.htm
or
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002790683_webrupe07.html?syndication=rss
I don't know how I feel about the fact the death penalty was never carried out on this guy. But I am glad his victim's families have finally seen some measure of relief.
For the record, I have met many wonderful people through PBM over the years, some of which have made tremendous impacts on my life and that of my family, such as the late and still dearly missed Jim Chapin. But Mitchell Rupe was an experience I could have done without.
Though it is a relief to finally talk about it all these years later, knowing that he's gone. It's weird because odds are I never would have encountered him again, but still, as some of the victim's family members said in the article, even they had that shred of doubt in the justice system. Not to the same degree, obviously, but I understand.
Now to crawl back into bed. Home sick today with muscle aches and chills on a relatively warm day. Typing has not helped warm my fingers.
