Editing Christopher Scarver

{{short description|American serial killer}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox murderer
| name              = Christopher Scarver
| image_name        = Christopher Scarver Mugshot.png
| image_caption     = Mugshot of Scarver in 1992
| birth_date        = {{Birth date and age|1969|7|6}}
| birth_place       = [[Milwaukee]], [[Wisconsin]], U.S.
| charge            = 
| conviction        = [[Murder in Wisconsin law#First-degree intentional homicide|First degree intentional homicide]] (3 counts)
| conviction_penalty = [[Life imprisonment without parole]]
| spouse            = 
| parents           = 
| criminal_status   = [[Incarcerated]]
| children          = 1
| victims           = 3
| motive            = [[Robbery]] (murder of Lohman)<br />[[Vigilantism]] (murders of Dahmer and Anderson)<ref name="NYTimes"/>
| date              = June 1, 1990 (Steve Lohman)<br />November 28, 1994 (Jeffrey Dahmer and Jesse Anderson)
| known_for         = Murdering [[Jeffrey Dahmer]] and [[Jesse Anderson]]
| imprisoned        = [[Centennial Correctional Facility]]
}}

'''Christopher J. Scarver Sr.''' (born July 6, 1969) is an American criminal who is known for the 1994 murders of his fellow inmates [[Jeffrey Dahmer]] and [[Jesse Anderson]], both convicted murderers, at the [[Columbia Correctional Institution (Wisconsin)|Columbia Correctional Institution]] in [[Wisconsin]]. The three inmates were on a work detail together in the prison gymnasium, and had a confrontation while unsupervised. Scarver had concealed a metal bar that he used to beat and fatally injure Dahmer and Anderson. Scarver was convicted and sentenced to two further [[Life imprisonment in the United States|life sentences]] for these murders. He had already been sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of the murder of Steve Lohman in 1990.

==Early life==
Scarver is the second of five children and was born and raised in [[Milwaukee]], [[Wisconsin]]. He attended [[James Madison Academic Campus|James Madison High School]] before dropping out in the eleventh grade. His mother forced him out of her house after he became addicted to alcohol and marijuana. 

Scarver was hired as a trainee [[Carpentry|carpenter]] in a Wisconsin Conservation Corps job program. He said that his supervisor, Edward Patts, promised that upon completion of this program he would be hired full-time. After Patts was dismissed, Scarver did not gain a full-time job there. 

He began to drink heavily. Later he said that while drunk, he started to hear voices calling him the "chosen one".<ref name="NYTimes"/> He was later diagnosed with [[schizophrenia]] and was said to have been suffering from [[Messiah complex|messianic delusions]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 30, 1994 |title=Dahmer Slaying Suspect Linked to Mental Illness |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-11-30-mn-3121-story.html |access-date=October 3, 2022 |website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=May 15, 2007 |title=Qualified Immunity Upheld on Supermax Mental Illness Aggravation |url=https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2007/may/15/qualified-immunity-upheld-on-supermax-mental-illness-aggravation/ |access-date=October 3, 2022 |website=prisonlegalnews.org}}</ref>

==Murder of Steve Lohman==
On June 1, 1990, Scarver went to the Wisconsin Conservation Corps training office and found site manager John Feyen and employee Steve Lohman present. Forcing Lohman down at gunpoint, Scarver demanded money from Feyen. Upon receiving only US$15 from him ({{Inflation|US|15|1990|fmt=eq}}), the enraged Scarver shot Lohman once in the head, killing him. According to authorities, Scarver said: "Now do you think I'm kidding? I need more money." After Scarver shot Lohman twice more, both [[post-mortem]], Feyen wrote Scarver a check for US$3,000 ({{Inflation|US|3000|1990|fmt=eq}}). As Feyen fled outside to his car, Scarver fired at him, but missed.<ref name="NYTimes"/><ref name=sentinel3/>

In 1992, Scarver was convicted of murder at a jury trial and sentenced to life in prison.<ref name=pioneer/> He was incarcerated at the [[Columbia Correctional Institution (Wisconsin)|Columbia Correctional Institution]] in [[Portage, Wisconsin]].<ref name=sentinel1/>

==Murders of Jeffrey Dahmer and Jesse Anderson==
Two years later, on the morning of November 28, 1994, Scarver was assigned to a work detail in the gymnasium with two other inmates: [[Jesse Anderson]], convicted for murdering his wife; and [[Jeffrey Dahmer]], a serial killer. When corrections officers left the three unsupervised, a confrontation ensued. Scarver went out and retrieved a metal bar from the weight room, which he used to bludgeon Dahmer. He then attacked Anderson with a wooden stick at the showers. He returned to his cell and informed a corrections officer "God told me to do it. Jesse Anderson and Jeffrey Dahmer are dead."<ref name=trib/><ref name=philly/>

Both men were mortally wounded by the beatings. Dahmer was declared dead an hour after arriving at the hospital. Anderson died two days later after doctors removed him from life support. 

Scarver was assessed for mental illness and found competent to stand trial on murder charges for the two killings.<ref name=sentinel2/> He changed his "not guilty" plea to "[[no contest]]" in exchange for being transferred to a federal penitentiary, was convicted of each murder, and received two more life sentences.<ref name=trib2/> When asked if he believed his sentence was just, Scarver was quoted as having said "Nothing white people do to blacks is just."<ref name="NYTimes"/>

===Aftermath===
In 1995, Scarver was transferred into the custody of the [[Federal Bureau of Prisons]] under the register number #08157-045. At the time, prison officials in Wisconsin believed they did not have a facility secure enough to house Scarver. Scarver underwent psychiatric evaluation again at the [[United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners|MCFP Springfield]] and was later transferred to [[ADX Florence]], the federal [[Supermax prison|supermax]] in [[Florence, Colorado]], where he remained until 2000.<ref>{{Cite web |title=FindLaw's United States Seventh Circuit case and opinions. |url=https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-7th-circuit/1115674.html |access-date=2023-02-09 |website=Findlaw |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2000, Scarver was transferred to the [[Wisconsin Secure Program Facility]] when it opened.<ref name="th" /> In 2001, federal district court judge [[Barbara Brandriff Crabb|Barbara Crabb]] ordered that Scarver and about three dozen other seriously mentally ill inmates be relocated from the Wisconsin facility. Scarver was eventually relocated to the [[Centennial Correctional Facility]] in Colorado.<ref name=th/>

In 2005, Scarver brought a federal civil rights suit against officials of the [[Wisconsin Secure Program Facility]]<ref name=court/> arguing that he had been subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, contrary to his constitutional rights.<ref name=Poplar/> A district court judge dismissed the suit against several of the defendants and ruled that the actions of the remaining officials could not be considered unlawful. Scarver unsuccessfully appealed the decision in 2006.<ref name=court/> Scarver would later say that he had been held for 16 years in solitary confinement as a result of the murders of Dahmer and Anderson.<ref name=letters/>

In 2012, an agent representing Scarver announced that he was willing to write a [[wikt:tell-all|tell-all]] book about the murder of Dahmer.<ref name=sjmn/><ref name=huff/><ref name=dj/>

==See also==
* [[List of homicides in Wisconsin]]
* [[List of serial killers in the United States]]

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="NYTimes">{{cite news
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/30/us/suspect-in-dahmer-killing-said-i-m-the-chosen-one.html
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090516091631/http://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/30/us/suspect-in-dahmer-killing-said-i-m-the-chosen-one.html
| archive-date = May 16, 2009
| title = Suspect in Dahmer Killing Said, 'I am the Chosen One'
| date = November 30, 1994
| newspaper = [[The New York Times]]
| access-date = February 8, 2009
| first = Don
| last = Terry}}
</ref>

<ref name=pioneer>{{cite news
| title = Man Sentenced To Consecutive Life Terms
| date = April 14, 1992
| newspaper = [[St. Paul Pioneer Press]]
| url = http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PD&s_site=twincities&p_multi=SP&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB5DBB987A4CDB4&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D
| access-date = January 31, 2015}}
</ref>

<ref name=sentinel1>{{cite news
| first = Jim
| last = Stingl
| title = Man receives life sentence in executing-style slaying
| date = April 13, 1992
| newspaper = [[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]]
| url = http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MWSB&p_theme=mwsb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB827090DA2F5BB&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D
| archive-url = https://archive.today/20150201024338/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MWSB&p_theme=mwsb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB827090DA2F5BB&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM

| archive-date = February 1, 2015
| access-date = January 31, 2015}}
</ref>

<ref name=sentinel2>{{cite news
| first = Daniel
| last = Bice
| title = Scarver is competent to stand trial, judge rules
| date = January 25, 1995
| newspaper = [[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]]
| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GJdQAAAAIBAJ&pg=1679,6699579
| access-date = January 31, 2015
}}{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

<ref name=sentinel3>{{cite news
| first = David
| last = Doege
| title = Fatal shooting is called methodical
| date = June 6, 1990
| newspaper = [[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]]
| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WZxQAAAAIBAJ&pg=6617,1520152
| access-date = January 31, 2015
}}{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

<!--unused<ref name=sentinel4>{{cite news
| first = James
| last = Causey
| title = Christopher Scarver: Same name, different path
| date = June 17, 2014
| newspaper = [[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]]
| url = http://archive.jsonline.com/news/opinion/christopher-scarver-same-name-different-path-b99290334z1-263560711.html/
| access-date = January 31, 2015}}
</ref>-->

<ref name=letters>{{cite news
 |first = Mike
 |last = Jacobs
 |title = Dahmer: Letters from his killer
 |date = July 20, 2011
|publisher = [[WTMJ-TV|WTMJ]]
 |url = http://www.620wtmj.com/news/local/125882738.html
 |access-date = January 31, 2015
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150216054316/http://www.620wtmj.com/news/local/125882738.html
 |archive-date = February 16, 2015

}}</ref>

<ref name=th>{{cite news
| title = Mentally ill killer of Dahmer sent to Colorado
| date = 2003-08-15
| publisher = [[Telegraph Herald]]
| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9AZRAAAAIBAJ&pg=3398,2648504
| access-date = 2015-01-31 }}
</ref>

<ref name=sjmn>{{cite news
| first = Tony
| last = Hicks
| title = Hicks: Jeffrey Dahmer's killer is shopping a memoir
| date = April 27, 2012
| publisher = [[Contra Costa Times]]
| url = http://www.mercurynews.com/entertainment/ci_20496613/hicks-jeffrey-dahmers-killer-is-shopping-memoir
| access-date = January 31, 2015}}
</ref>

<ref name=huff>{{cite news
| title = Jeffrey Dahmer's Killer, Christopher Scarver, Shopping Tell-All Book On 1994 Murder
| date = April 27, 2012
| work = [[The Huffington Post]]
| url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/27/jeffrey-dahmers-killer-christopher-scarver-book-deal_n_1459315.html
| access-date = January 31, 2015}}
</ref>

<ref name=trib>{{cite news
| first = Rogers
| last = Worthington
| title = Inmate Charged In Dahmer Killing Says God Ordered It
| date = December 16, 1994
| newspaper = [[Chicago Tribune]]
| url = https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1994-12-16-9412160144-story.html
| access-date = January 31, 2015}}
</ref>

<ref name=trib2>{{cite news
| title = Inmate goes public with why he killed serial murderer Jeffrey Dahmer
| date = May 1, 2015
| newspaper = [[Chicago Tribune]]
| agency = [[Associated Press]]
| url = https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-inmate-goes-public-with-why-he-killed-serial-murderer-jeffrey-dahmer-20150501-story.html
| access-date = May 2, 2015}}
</ref>

<ref name=philly>{{cite news
| first = Jodi
| last = Enda
| title = Dahmer Suspect Has Mental-illness
| date = November 30, 1994
| newspaper = [[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]
| url = http://articles.philly.com/1994-11-30/news/25868033_1_christopher-scarver-columbia-correctional-institution-serial-killer-jeffrey-dahmer
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160624071008/http://articles.philly.com/1994-11-30/news/25868033_1_christopher-scarver-columbia-correctional-institution-serial-killer-jeffrey-dahmer
| archive-date = 2016-06-24
| access-date = January 31, 2015}}
</ref>

<ref name=dj>{{cite news
| first = Yukio
| last = Strachan
| title = Man who murdered Jeffrey Dahmer seeking tell-all book deal
| date = April 28, 2012
| publisher = Digital Journal
| url = http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/323815
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130218041605/https://www.digitaljournal.com/article/323815
| archive-date=February 18, 2013
| access-date = January 31, 2015}}
</ref>

<ref name=Poplar>{{cite journal
| last1 = Poplar
| first1 = Stephen G. Jr
| last2 = Kelly
| first2 = D. Clay
| title = Farmer Progeny
| journal = Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online
| volume = 34
| issue = 4
| page = 561
| date = December 1, 2006
| url = http://jaapl.org/content/34/4/561.full
| access-date = February 8, 2009}}
</ref>

<ref name=court>{{cite court
| litigants = Christopher J. Scarver, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Jon Litscher, et al., Defendants-Appellees
| vol = No. 05-2999
| reporter = U.S.
| opinion = 434 F.3d 972
| court = United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
| date = January 18, 2006
| url = http://www.projectposner.org/case/2006/434F3d972
| access-date = February 8, 2009
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080213184949/http://www.projectposner.org/case/2006/434F3d972
| url-status = bot: unknown
}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140407060228/http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/notorious/dahmer/21.html Court TV's Crime Library]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160520052844/http://www.414scarver-solutions.com/ The Child Left Behind, The Words and Poetry of Christopher J. Scarver] (old site, archived May 20, 2015)
*[https://414scarversolutions.wordpress.com/ Christopher J. Scarver blog]

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scarver, Christopher}}
[[Category:1969 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1990 murders in the United States]]
[[Category:1994 murders in the United States]]
[[Category:20th-century American criminals]]
[[Category:African-American Christians]]
[[Category:American carpenters]]
[[Category:American male criminals]]
[[Category:American people convicted of murder]]
[[Category:American people with disabilities]]
[[Category:American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment]]
[[Category:American vigilantes]]
[[Category:Crime in Milwaukee]]
[[Category:Criminals from Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Jeffrey Dahmer]]
[[Category:Male murderers]]
[[Category:People convicted of murder by Wisconsin]]
[[Category:People from Milwaukee]]
[[Category:People with schizophrenia]]
[[Category:Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Inmates of ADX Florence]]
[[Category:Vigilantism against sex offenders]]
[[Category:Vigilantism in the United States]]