Greg Gibson, a bookseller and father from Massachusetts, lost his son to a school shooting in 1992. He spent the next 20 years corresponding with the killer by mail, exploring why and how it came to pass, and ultimately met with him face to face to get him on record explaining why.
The answer?
“It was easy, It Was Just Too Easy…”
To get a gun, that is. That was the ultimate answer.
Gibson wrote a book about his experience called Gone Boy, but he has gone further still and sat for an interview with his son’s murderer. He is now raising money to promote the documentary footage he recorded. You can help at:
www.gofundme.com/…
About the book:
Gregory Gibson’s eighteen-year-old son was dead, shot in the doorway of his college library. The murderer was in jail for life, but for Gibson the tragedy was still unfolding. The morning of the shooting, he learned, college officials had intercepted a shipment of ammunition addressed to the murderer, only to pass it along, unopened. They had received an anonymous warning about the murderer and the gun, but they did not call the police.
After years of increasing frustration, Gibson woke one morning to a mesmerizing vision of his own rage and helplessness. He was so distraught over the murder of his son that he now felt ready to get a gun and murder someone. Recognizing the absurdity of this proposition may have saved his life. He resolved to discover and document exactly who was to blame for his son’s death, and why. He decided to go on a walkabout.
Gone Boy is a murderous and cunning inquiry into guns, violence, and manhood in America. It is the truthful story of a father and son traveling the crooked path of the sometimes harrowing but largely hopeful journey into becoming men. Brilliantly conceived, expertly crafted, Gone Boy is a masterpiece of suspense and heart. It is a classic for our time.
About the Documentary:
My name is Greg Gibson. Twenty years ago I began corresponding with the man who killed my 18-year-old son Galen. In the course of this correspondence he told me repeatedly that the most horrible aspect of his crime was that, when he was so disturbed he thought God was commanding him to kill people, it was still a simple matter for him to get a gun, oversized magazines and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
I realized what a shocking statement this would be, coming from him in his own words, and I spent the next three years trying to convince officials to let me interview this man in prison. Finally they agreed. I went into Norfolk Prison and came away with a 45 minute audio interview, and 30 minutes of video.
My film crew and I have been editing this material down to a powerful, gut-wrenching 5 minute Public Service Announcement in which the killer talks about his crime. "It was easy," he finally says, "It was just too easy."
We're almost finished with the final edit, and now I need funds to pay these guys for their hard work, their improvisational skills, and their creative brilliance. I also want to purchase advertising on various media so that the greatest number of people possible will be able to see this piece. I believe it will get people's attention. I believe it will have an extraordinary impact.
So I'm asking for your help today. Your contribution will help us get the message out to all Americans. Gun violence happens wherever there are guns. And guns are everywhere. Any one of us is as likely as anyone else to be the next member of the club no one wants to join. We're ALL stakeholders in the fight against gun violence.
Please take a moment to read and watch this powerful search for meaning.