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Robert "Budd" Dwyer (November 21, 1939 – January 22, 1987) was an American politician who, on the morning of January 22, 1987, committed suicide by shooting himself in the mouth with a revolver during a televised press conference at his office in Harrisburg, the state capital of Pennsylvania.
Career
Dwyer graduated from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania where he was a member of the Beta Chi chapter of Theta Chi Fraternity. He went on to get his master's degree in fine arts and taught social studies and coached football at Cambridge Springs High School. A Republican, Dwyer served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 6th district (although seats were apportioned by county prior to 1969) from 1965 to 1970. He also served as a member of the Pennsylvania Senate from the 50th district from 1971 to 1981. After his tenure as a state senator, Dwyer moved on to the treasurer's office, a position he held up until his death.
Controversy and guilty verdict
During the early 1980s, employees of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania overpaid millions of dollars in Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes. As a result, the state solicited bids from accounting firms to calculate the amount of the refund each employee was due.
One firm, the California-based Computer Technology Associates, was owned by a Harrisburg native named John Torquato, Jr., who used his area connections and a series of bribes to obtain the contract worth a reputed $4.6 million. Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornburgh received a memo anonymously informing him of what had happened.
After an investigation by the United States Attorney, Dwyer was charged with and indicted for receiving a kickback of $300,000 in return for using his influence and office to steer the contract toward CTA. The US Attorney also indicted Torquato, Torquato's attorney William Smith, Smith's wife and former state Republican Party Chairman Robert Asher. In return for lighter penalties, Torquato and the Smiths pleaded guilty and testified on behalf of the government against Dwyer and Asher.
Dwyer had been offered a plea bargain on a single charge of bribe receiving that could have incarcerated him for a maximum of five years, but he refused it. Dwyer would have been required to resign his office and cooperate fully with the government's investigation. Instead, the government hobbled Dwyer's defense by refusing to name some unindicted co-conspirators believed to have been staff members of the Dauphin County Republican Party.
Dwyer was found guilty of bribe receiving in December 1986. He continued to profess his innocence vehemently, as did others who were close to him. After being sentenced Dwyer wrote to President Reagan asking for a presidential pardon. In his letter he wrote, " you are the only one who can save my family and me from total unwarranted disaster ... this is an unusual and horrible situation and I have only 4 weeks until Doomsday."
Due to a loophole in Pennsylvania law, Dwyer continued serving as state treasurer until his sentencing. The maximum sentence Dwyer faced was 55 years imprisonment and a $300,000 fine. His co-defendant Asher received one year in jail. Asher later returned to politics, and served as a Republican National Committeeman for Pennsylvania.
Public suicide
On January 22, 1987, the day before his sentencing, Dwyer called a press conference to "provide an update on the situation". At the conference, an agitated and nervous Dwyer once again professed his innocence, and declared that he would not resign as state treasurer. Those attending would hear his final words:
"I thank the good Lord for giving me 47 years of invigorating challenges, stimulating experiences, many happy occasions, and, most of all, the finest wife and children a man could ever desire. Now my life has changed, for no apparent reason. People who call and write are exasperated and feel helpless. They know I'm innocent and want to help. But in this nation, the world's greatest democracy, there is nothing they can do to prevent me from being punished for a crime they know I did not commit. Some who have called have said that I am a modern day Job. Judge Muir is also noted for his medieval sentences. I face a maximum sentence of 55 years in prison and a $300,000 fine for being innocent. Judge Muir has already told the press that he, quote, "felt invigorated" when we were found guilty, and that he plans to imprison me as a deterrent to other public officials. But it wouldn't be a deterrent because every public official who knows me knows that I am innocent; it wouldn't be a legitimate punishment because I've done nothing wrong. Since I'm a victim of political persecution, my prison would simply be an American gulag. I ask those that believe in me to continue to extend friendship and prayer to my family, to work untiringly for the creation of a true justice system here in the United States, and to press on with the efforts to vindicate me, so that my family and their future families are not tainted by this injustice that has been perpetrated on me."
At this point, Dwyer stopped with his prepared text and called to three of his staffers, giving each an envelope. One of the envelopes contained a suicide note to his wife. The second contained an organ donor card and other related materials. The third contained a letter to Pennsylvania Governor Robert P. Casey, who had taken office only two days before.
Then Dwyer withdrew from a manila envelope a .357 Magnum revolver, advising those in the crowd, "Please leave the room if this will offend you." Those in attendance cried out to Dwyer, pleading with him to put the gun down; "Budd, don't do this!", "Budd, this is not right!", and "Budd, listen to me!" can be heard off-screen. Upon seeing the gun some ran out of the room to get help while others tried to approach him. "Don't, don't, don't, this will hurt someone," he warned. Amid the cries of "Budd! Don't do it!" Dwyer put the gun barrel into his mouth and pulled the trigger. He collapsed against a wall in a sitting position, blood pouring from his nose and an exit wound at the top of his head, all in front of five television news cameras while witnesses were screaming and using profanity in shock. Dwyer was declared dead at the scene at 11:31 a.m. EST.
Aftermath
Evidence of Dwyer's death remains in the Treasurer's office. The wall in front of which Dwyer was standing when he pulled the trigger has an obvious bullet hole. The hole was puttied and stained, but is still very visible. Catherine Baker Knoll, who held the Treasurer's office from 1989 to 1997, remarked about it in 1996, "I look at that bullet hole every day...."
Dwyer is buried in Blooming Valley Cemetery in Blooming Valley, Pennsylvania.
A number of television stations throughout Pennsylvania aired taped footage of Dwyer's suicide to a midday audience. At least one, WITF-TV-33, the Harrisburg PBS affiliate, carried the entire press conference live. Due to a major snowstorm throughout Pennsylvania that day, many schools were closed and many school-aged children witnessed the suicide. Over the next several hours, however, news editors had to decide whether to air the graphic images or trim the footage for evening news telecasts.
Many stations, including WCAU and Pennsylvania's Group W stations KYW and KDKA, froze the action just prior to the gunfire. KDKA-TV and KYW-TV both chose this approach, and allowed the audio of the shooting to continue under the frozen image. Group W's news cameraman William L. "Bill" Martin and reporter David Sollenberger—based out of the Harrisburg state capitol's Correspondents Room—had a camera set up at the news conference and chose not to air the actual footage, choosing instead to air the audio with a freeze frame of the gun in Dwyer's mouth. Only a handful aired the entire press conference unedited. WPVI in Philadelphia was one station that chose to re-broadcast the suicide footage in full on their 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Action News broadcasts without a warning to viewers. That station's broadcast is a source for copies circulating on the Internet. WPXI in Pittsburgh is reported by the Associated Press to have broadcast the footage uncensored on an early newscast. In explaining the decision to air, WPXI news operations manager By Williams said, "It's an important event an important man." Williams opted not to air the footage in the evening newscasts, explaining, "Everyone knows by then that he did it. There are children out of school."
The broadcast of Dwyer's suicide became a topic for educators in Pennsylvania classrooms and led to questions regarding the wisdom of airing live news broadcasts in public school settings. This issue was also raised following the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger , an event which was shown live in many classrooms because Christa McAuliffe was to be the first teacher in space.
Children, however, responded to the event by creating a cycle of black comedy jokes similar to those that circulated after the Challenger disaster. A study of the incidence of these jokes showed that they were told only in areas of Pennsylvania where uncensored footage of the press conference had been shown by networks.
In contrast, at least one reporter present at Dwyer's suicide suffered ill effects from being a firsthand witness. Tony Romeo was a radio reporter standing a few feet away from Dwyer when he pulled the trigger, and the event led to Romeo developing depression and taking a break from journalism.
Since Dwyer died in office before being removed upon senten
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