A Somewhat Turbulent Life Culminates In Death Of Three UAH Faculty
Posted: Saturday, March 13, 2010
by Joel Hendon
http://hebronics.org/index.html
The University of Alabama at Huntsville, announced Friday that Amy Bishop, Professor of Biological Sciences has been fired. She was hitherto suspended since the February 12, 2010 shootings.
Whenever there occurs a seemingly baseless killing of innocent people, almost everyone's first question is...why? This completely unexpected episode caught the entire university faculty, student body, staff, and even the nation, totally baffled for lack of an explanation.
Dr Bishop was born April 24, 1965 and was raised in Massachusetts. She completed her undergraduate degree at Northeastern University in Boston where her father, Samuel Bishop, was a professor in the Art Department. She then gained her Ph.D. In genetics from Harvard. She became employed as an instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Some years later (2003) she became an assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Huntsville in the Department of Biological Sciences.
An investigation of her background reveals much concerning her behavior and demeanor. She has been described by a number of students as being a highly intelligent instructor, but some what "odd" in her nature. Also, many of her fellow faculty members remember her as being disruptive in meetings with "bizarre tangents...left field kind of stuff", "strange", "crazy", "did things that weren't normal", and she was "out of touch with reality" (Wikipedia)
According to a report on boston.com, Bishop shot and killed her 18 year old brother in 1986. She reportedly shot three times, once into her room's wall, once which killed her brother and another through the ceiling as she fled the home. She was also said to have pointed the gun at a passing motorist in an effort to take his car. She was arrested by the Braintree police but they were ordered to release her and declared the incident as an accident when her mother appealed to them. Her mother was a member of the town's personnel board at that time. Records of the arrest and rulings also disappeared later.
Then in 1993, Dr. Paul Rosenberg, a Newton professor and doctor at Boston's Children's Hospital, had returned with his wife from a vacation in the Caribbean and was opening mail in his home. Upon opening a long thin carton, Dr Rosenberg saw a cylinder and wires inside. He and his wife ran out of the house and called police. The bombs did not explode but the package contained two six- inch pipe bombs with two nine volt batteries attached to them.
Amy Bishop was employed in the human biochemistry lab at the Boston Children's Hospital, where Dr. Rosenberg also worked at that time. It was reported that she and her husband were questioned because she had been concerned that she was going to receive a negative evaluation report from the doctor. No charges were ever filed and her husband states they have a letteer from the ATF assuring that they were not suspects.
Dr. Bishop's incidents did not end there. In March of 2002, she and her family visited an International House Of Pancakes (IHOP) and she asked the waitress for a booster seat for one of her children. When the waitress informed her that another lady had been given their last booster seat, Bishop became very angry and walked over to the other patron and demanded the seat. When the lady refused, Bishop hit her on the head and yelled, "I am Doctor Amy Bishop" plus some profanity. She was arrested and placed on probation. The prosecutors requested that she be required to attend some anger management classes, but records do not show if she was ever sent to those.
At Huntsville, she had reportedly been denied tenure and was upset, had appealed it but still felt she was going to be denied. Most of those of whom were interviewed, say that she did not seem to show noticeable concern over the pending resolution, but continued to act, "odd".
In the current case of killing three faculty members and injuring two more at the University of Alabama at Huntsville, there seems to be no room for defense other than that of a mental problem. She has now told interrogators that she has no recollection of killing anyone. It appears that she will undergo considerable psychiatric examination to determine if she was sane at the time of the obviously pre-meditated shootings. If she is found guilty of first degree murder, she will be eligible for the death penalty or life in prison.
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Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)Joel,It is always a sad thing to read about these types of bizarre events. What is one to conclude, other than this woman obviously had some mental problems. So very sad for the innocent victims and their families, not to mention all the people who were forever affected by this act of senselessness. Thanks for the article.Thank you for reading and commenting on my article, Kim. I agree with your thoughts.
Joel,Thanks for sharing this article! True, Amy Bishop has mental problems that was apparent before even the shooting occurs. Things could have been prevented and we would still have those great minds with us... if only.TerenceThank you for the comment and for taking time to read my article. I appreciate it.
You write well, Joel. I have heard the story and read it about it in the paper.Thank you Jack, I appreciate your comment.
Thanks for a well written article. Being an alumnae of UAH, this tragedy has personal significance for me.Thank you Anonymous, I appreciate your comment. Congratulations on your UA education. I did not have the opportunity to attend either UA or Auburn, but had I been priviledged to do so, I would have chosen UA...but don't mention that to any Auburn fans.I chose Jacksonville State U. because it was near and I was employed here also. JSU is also a great college.
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