JANUARY 22nd, 1987 – It was on this date that one of the most horrible incidents ever captured during a live news report occurred. Pennsylvania’s 70th Treasurer, R. Budd Dwyer (R) was due to be sentenced on January 23rd after having been found guilty of assorted charges in 1986 following a bribery scandal.
On the 22nd, Dwyer held a press conference at which he protested the guilty verdict, produced a .357 Magnum handgun from a large envelope he was holding and shot himself to death. The tragic event was broadcast live and since many schools were out on a snow day on that date countless school children happened to be watching. WARNING: ADULTS ONLY MATERIAL BELOW.
Edited footage of Dwyer’s suicide has been part of online collections of live suicides and other acts of violence for years.
Dwyer had been found guilty of eleven counts of conspiracy, perjury, mail fraud and interstate transportation in aid of racketeering. His public suicide was a tragedy and scarred untold numbers of people.
In 2010 the documentary Honest Man was released. The feature-length production examines the late treasurer’s potential innocence as well as the evidence against him.
Balladeer's Blog 