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Perry Edward Smith

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Perry Edward Smith
File:Perry Smith.jpg
Perry Smith in 1960 mugshot
Born(1928-10-27)October 27, 1928
Huntington, Elko County, Nevada
DiedApril 14, 1965(1965-04-14) (aged 36)
Lansing, Kansas
Occupation(s)Seaman, soldier, car painter
Criminal statusDeceased
Parent(s)Flo Buckskin and "Tex" John Smith
Criminal chargeMurder
PenaltyDeath by hanging

Perry Edward Smith (October 27, 1928 – April 14, 1965) was one of two ex-convicts who murdered four members of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas, United States on November 15, 1959, a crime made famous by Truman Capote in his 1966 non-fiction novel In Cold Blood.[1][2]

Family and early life

Perry Edward Smith was born in Huntington, Nevada, a now-abandoned community in Elko County.[3] His parents, Florence Julia "Flo" Buckskin and John "Tex" Smith, were rodeo performers.[3] Smith was of mixed Irish and Cherokee ancestry (from his father's and mother's side, respectively).[3] The family moved to Juneau, Alaska in 1929, where the elder Smith distilled bootleg whisky for a living. Smith's father abused his wife and four children, and in 1935, his wife left him taking the children with her to San Francisco.[3] Smith and his siblings were raised initially with their alcoholic mother. After Smith's mother died when he was thirteen, he and his siblings were placed in a Catholic orphanage, where nuns allegedly abused him physically and emotionally for his life-long problem of chronic bed wetting. He was also placed in a Salvation Army orphanage, where one of the caretakers allegedly tried to drown him. In his adolescence, Smith reunited and lived an itinerant existence with his father. He also spent time in different juvenile detention homes after joining a street gang and becoming involved in petty crime.

Two of Smith's siblings committed suicide as young adults, and the remaining sister eliminated any contact with him.[4]

Military service and life in Washington

At age 16, Smith joined the United States Merchant Marine. He joined the army in 1948, where he served in the Korean War.[5] During his stint in the army, Smith would spend weeks at a time in the stockade for public carousing and fighting with Korean civilians and other soldiers. In spite of his record, in 1952, Smith received an honorable discharge and was last stationed at Fort Lewis in Washington.[5] He stayed with an Army friend for a time in the Tacoma area, where he was employed as a car painter. With one of his first pay checks, Smith bought a motor bike. While riding, he lost control of the bike due to adverse weather conditions. Smith nearly died in the accident and spent six months in a Tacoma hospital. Because of the severe injuries to both legs, Smith's legs were permanently disabled[5] and he suffered chronic leg pains for the rest of his life. To help control the pain, he was known to consume a copious amount of aspirin.[2][5]

The murders and life on death row

Perry Smith and Richard Hickock first met in the Kansas State Prison, at Lansing, Kansas, resuming their acquaintance after Hickock's release in November 1959. Hickock and Smith later testified that they had gotten the idea to rob the Clutters after Hickock was told, by former cellmate Floyd Wells, that there was a safe in the family's house containing $10,000. When they invaded the house, however, they discovered that there was no such safe.[2]

Smith and Hickock were captured in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 30, 1959, following an extensive manhunt which extended into Mexico.[3]

Smith admitted to cutting the throat of the father, Herbert Clutter, as well as shooting both Herbert and Kenyon Clutter in the head with a shotgun at close range. The trial record shows a dispute as to which of the two shot the women, Bonnie and Nancy Clutter. Alvin Dewey, chief investigator of the Clutter family murders, testified at the trial that Hickock insisted in his confession that Smith performed all the killings; Smith, however, first claimed Hickock killed the women, but later claimed to have shot them himself. Although Smith's revised confession coincided with Hickock's initial statement, Smith refused to testify in court, as did Hickock, leading to a lack of an official record detailing who killed the women, aside from Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) Special Agent Dewey's testimony outlining Hickock's confession, along with Smith's confession and the latter's subsequent revision.

While Smith had only a grade-school education, he maintained a strong interest in art, literature and music. He read extensively, and during his time on death row, wrote poems and painted pictures for other inmates from photos of their family members.[6]

Relationship with Truman Capote

During research for his novel In Cold Blood, Truman Capote extensively interviewed Smith and eventually befriended him.[7] There have long been rumors and conjecture as to the exact nature of their relationship. While Capote never wrote anything to suggest that theirs was anything more than a platonic friendship, some accounts have suggested perhaps a stronger association having developed.[8]

Execution

Perry Smith and Dick Hickock were executed by hanging on April 14, 1965. Warden Greg Seamon presided over the hanging of the convicted murderers in Lansing.[2]

Film portrayals

Smith was portrayed by Robert Blake in the 1967 film version of In Cold Blood,[9] Eric Roberts in the 1996 miniseries adaptation of the original film,[10] Clifton Collins Jr. in 2005's Capote[11] and Daniel Craig in 2006's Infamous.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ Anatomy of a Murder, Time Magazine, December 22, 1967
  2. ^ a b c d Capote, Truman. In Cold Blood. New York: Random House, 1965.
  3. ^ a b c d e Rocha, Guy. In Cold Blood: The Nevada Connection. Nevada State Archives and Library. September 2007.
  4. ^ In Cold Blood: A Legacy. Lawrence Journal World. ((Defunct site prior to 9/10)
  5. ^ a b c d Keglovits, Sally J. In Cold Blood Revisited: A Look Back at an American Crime. US Courts.gov. June 2004. Accessed: 2008-02-02.
  6. ^ Bruntz, Michael. Witness to execution. Lawrence Journal-World. 5 April 2005.
  7. ^ Adam, Suzanna. Death penalty: Kansans continue to debate capital punishment decades later. Lawrence Journal-World. 6 April 2005.
  8. ^ Pela, Robert L. Truman Capote: In Which Various Friends, Enemies, Acquaintances, and Detractors Recall His Turbulent Career. - book reviews. The Advocate. 23 Dec 1997. at Find Articles.
  9. ^ In Cold Blood at IMDb
  10. ^ In Cold Blood - TV at IMDb
  11. ^ Capote at IMDb
  12. ^ Infamous at IMDb

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