WICHITA, Kan. - Dennis Rader is now allowed to watch television and listen to a radio in his cell at the El Dorado Fake Bvlgari Correctional Facility.
He can read magazines, newspapers, books. And he can write or draw on paper with pencil or pen.
That's because Rader - the BTK serial killer, sentenced to prison last August - has earned the privilege to have such items through good behavior, said Bill Miskell, a spokesman for the Kansas Department of Corrections.
But Rader's new privileges are a concern to others. A lead Sedgwick County prosecutor and the mother of one of Rader's 10 victims said they fear Rader now has access to materials that could stoke the kind of violent sexual fantasies that drove his killing from 1974 to 1991. Rader, who called himself BTK, for "bind, torture, kill," drew pictures of women tied up and in terror. In recent years, he cut out and stored thousands of print advertisements and fantasized about the women and children pictured in them.
"We're having a hard time understanding why somebody like this is allowed to earn privileges when all the evidence was presented as to how he can turn what most people would consider to be innocent into something that is evil," said Kevin O'Connor, a deputy district attorney.
Last year, the district attorney's office pushed for and a judge recommended severe restrictions on what Rader could have in his cell.
"I think the general public is going to have a hard time understanding why he's being treated in this manner," O'Connor said.
Rader has gained the ability to watch television and read periodicals because he has progressed two levels since entering the prison last Fake Hermes summer, Miskell said. The Department of Corrections has incentive levels for inmates designed to encourage good behavior by granting privileges - or taking them away as discipline for infractions.
Miskell said he couldn't disclose which items Rader has, nor would he say if any of the materials Rader receives are specially controlled or censored because of Rader's criminal history. But Miskell did note that any written materials with sexually explicit content aren't allowed. For that reason, he said, magazines like Playboy and Penthouse are prohibited.
As with other inmates who have earned the privilege to watch TV or listen to the radio, Rader would have to use his own money for it, Miskell said. A 13-inch color set from the prison canteen is $103.20; a 12-inch black-and-white is $80.49. It's not clear if Rader has the money. Miskell said he couldn't say.
The TV sets must have clear plastic molding - so contraband can't be hidden inside. And inmates must use headphones while watching shows or listening to music to keep noise levels down.
The EarringsStill, Miskell said, even with the additional privileges, Rader remains in the most restrictive environment - administrative segregation. That means he is let out of his 8-by-10 foot cell only one hour a day, five days a week, to shower and exercise.
Rader hasn't had perfect behavior, however. Records show an April 10 disciplinary report. It stems from an attempt by Rader to mail a letter to one person outside the prison, asking that person to send a second letter to another person, Miskell said. Inmates can mail only directly to one person at a time. The rule is designed partly to prevent inmates from sending letters to victims' families. Rader's letter was intercepted before it left the prison, Miskell said.
Georgia Mason, mother of Nancy Fox, whom Rader killed in 1977, wasn't happy with Rader's new status.
"I just don't think he needs anything in that little cell," she said. "I think any magazine would satisfy his little fantasy. What magazine is there without women's pictures in it and kids' pictures?"
Replica ParmigianiShe wonders if he can read about himself. "He'd be thrilled to death to read a book about himself," she said.
Miskell said he didn't have an immediate answer to the question, nor did he know if Rader could watch a program about himself.
In January, prosecutors said they were concerned that Rader's prison life wouldn't be as restrictive as they and District Judge Greg Waller recommended.
The prosecutors' objections came after the Department of Corrections released a letter to The Wichita Eagle saying the agency will follow some but not all of the recommendations to limit what Rader has access to.
One of Waller's recommendations was Replica Graham Watches Replica Handbags that Rader - who tortured and strangled many of his victims while acting out sexual fantasies - not be able to "possess, receive or create any visual images of human beings or animals, including drawings."
In his letter, Secretary of Corrections Roger Werholtz said: "The Department in evaluating the sexual explicitness of material relative to inmate Rader will take into consideration his sexual proclivities. However, publications such as Time or Newsweek which contain photographs of persons or animals would not generally be prohibited."
Instead, the letter said officials would determine whether material was "sexually explicit" or "a threat," as defined by state prison regulations.
