beliefs.
By 2003, four states still had no hate crime laws: Arkansas, Indiana, South Carolina and Wyoming. Seventeen states had laws that did not include sexual orientation as a protected group, while twenty-nine, including Florida, had laws that do protect on the basis of sexual orientation. Seven states had hate crime laws covering gender identity. But in 1993, that was all in the future.
In 1993, when Jon Lawrence was eighteen years old, and at the emotional crossroads of his life, hate crime legislation was not common. What would, a decade later, be perceived as a hate crime punishable by a longer sentence would just be perceived as a regular felony punishable by a shorter one. Tried and found guilty on charges of criminal mischief and property damage, Lawrence was sentenced to four years in prison. The Department of Corrections (DOC) Report described him as “an eighteen year old Caucasoid property offender.” Ironically, in Florida, race mattered when filling out police forms.
On November 17, 1993, barely a few weeks into his incarceration, Lawrence slashed his wrist in a suicide attempt. The DOC reported that he had a history of attempts to commit suicide with “at least 50 suicidal gestures in the past.” Dr. Olga Fernandez diagnosed Lawrence as suffering from “adjustment disorder with depress mood” and “antisocial personality disorder.” The DSM defines adjustment disorder with depress mood as follows:
“… the development of clinically significant emotional or behavioral symptoms in response to an identifiable psychosocial stressor or stressors. The stressor may be a single event or there may be multiple stressors.”
In Jon Lawrence’s case, there were multiple ones, stemming from his early childhood. The added part of the diagnosis—depress mood—meant that “the predominant manifestations are symptoms such as depressed mood, tearfulness or feelings of hopelessness.” That description fit Jon Lawrence to a T. But whereas most depressants only hurt themselves, the Antisocial Personality Disorder diagnosis was an ominous portent of things to come.
Antisocial Personality Disorder is a lifelong pattern of not having a conscience, of not recognizing the boundaries of others, and of manipulating and deceiving others for personal benefit.
The diagnosis—coupled with the facts of Lawrence’s scarred background and, so far, brief criminal career—showed that he was a full-blown psychopathic criminal, the most dangerous kind. And though his crimes had yet to involve physical violence, they did involve violence metaphorically. It might only be a matter of time, unless treatment was successful, that Jon Lawrence acted out violently.
After about six months behind bars, the state finally got Lawrence the help he needed when they transferred him to the state mental hospital in Chattahoochee. While the state’s intentions were good, fate was about to take a hand in introducing two of Florida’s notorious future murderers to each other.
Jeremiah Rodgers was born on April 19, 1977, and hailed from the town of Altoona in Lake County, Florida.
The county is in the center of the state, in an area called the Central Highlands. While nearly all of Florida is at sea level, Lake County has a relatively high elevation of about 50 to 190 feet above sea level. It’s one of the few destinations in Florida with rolling hills to climb.
The place is like a picture postcard, a perfect place for parents to raise kids. The Rodgers family lived there and had two sons and a daughter. They also seemed to have a liking for biblical prophets. The youngest son was named Elijah.
According to the Bible, Elijah lived during the ninth century B.C. , in the reign of King Ahab. When Jezebel, Ahab’s wife, got the Jewish people to worship the god Baal, Elijah strode into action. He preached that there was only one God of Israel and that the people of Israel were going to suffer a great drought as a result of their polytheism.
By 2003, four states still had no hate crime laws: Arkansas, Indiana, South Carolina and Wyoming. Seventeen states had laws that did not include sexual orientation as a protected group, while twenty-nine, including Florida, had laws that do protect on the basis of sexual orientation. Seven states had hate crime laws covering gender identity. But in 1993, that was all in the future.
In 1993, when Jon Lawrence was eighteen years old, and at the emotional crossroads of his life, hate crime legislation was not common. What would, a decade later, be perceived as a hate crime punishable by a longer sentence would just be perceived as a regular felony punishable by a shorter one. Tried and found guilty on charges of criminal mischief and property damage, Lawrence was sentenced to four years in prison. The Department of Corrections (DOC) Report described him as “an eighteen year old Caucasoid property offender.” Ironically, in Florida, race mattered when filling out police forms.
On November 17, 1993, barely a few weeks into his incarceration, Lawrence slashed his wrist in a suicide attempt. The DOC reported that he had a history of attempts to commit suicide with “at least 50 suicidal gestures in the past.” Dr. Olga Fernandez diagnosed Lawrence as suffering from “adjustment disorder with depress mood” and “antisocial personality disorder.” The DSM defines adjustment disorder with depress mood as follows:
“… the development of clinically significant emotional or behavioral symptoms in response to an identifiable psychosocial stressor or stressors. The stressor may be a single event or there may be multiple stressors.”
In Jon Lawrence’s case, there were multiple ones, stemming from his early childhood. The added part of the diagnosis—depress mood—meant that “the predominant manifestations are symptoms such as depressed mood, tearfulness or feelings of hopelessness.” That description fit Jon Lawrence to a T. But whereas most depressants only hurt themselves, the Antisocial Personality Disorder diagnosis was an ominous portent of things to come.
Antisocial Personality Disorder is a lifelong pattern of not having a conscience, of not recognizing the boundaries of others, and of manipulating and deceiving others for personal benefit.
The diagnosis—coupled with the facts of Lawrence’s scarred background and, so far, brief criminal career—showed that he was a full-blown psychopathic criminal, the most dangerous kind. And though his crimes had yet to involve physical violence, they did involve violence metaphorically. It might only be a matter of time, unless treatment was successful, that Jon Lawrence acted out violently.
After about six months behind bars, the state finally got Lawrence the help he needed when they transferred him to the state mental hospital in Chattahoochee. While the state’s intentions were good, fate was about to take a hand in introducing two of Florida’s notorious future murderers to each other.
Jeremiah Rodgers was born on April 19, 1977, and hailed from the town of Altoona in Lake County, Florida.
The county is in the center of the state, in an area called the Central Highlands. While nearly all of Florida is at sea level, Lake County has a relatively high elevation of about 50 to 190 feet above sea level. It’s one of the few destinations in Florida with rolling hills to climb.
The place is like a picture postcard, a perfect place for parents to raise kids. The Rodgers family lived there and had two sons and a daughter. They also seemed to have a liking for biblical prophets. The youngest son was named Elijah.
According to the Bible, Elijah lived during the ninth century B.C. , in the reign of King Ahab. When Jezebel, Ahab’s wife, got the Jewish people to worship the god Baal, Elijah strode into action. He preached that there was only one God of Israel and that the people of Israel were going to suffer a great drought as a result of their polytheism.
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