Prisoner 1167 : The Madman Who Was Jack the Ripper

Rating:
Summary: Interesting facts and figures
Review: If your a definite Ripper buff this book is worth reading. It presents interesting facts, as to who just might be the Ripper. I definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested in looking into the mind of a very psychotic man!

Rating:
Summary: Only a Madman Would Believe Kelly was the Ripper
Review: Like so many authors before him, James Tully seems to have ignored one small detail about Jack the Ripper before setting off in pursuit of his "pet" suspect. Jack the Ripper was a sexual serial killer, a secretive little man with a maniacal chip on his shoulder against women. He didn't have an agenda and he didn't have a motive in the classic sense. He was one of the faceless million living in squalor in London's East End and it is quite possible we will never know who he truely was. However, Tully would have you believe it was James Kelly -- a paranoid schitzophrenic who escaped from Broadmoor asylum in the years just prior to the murders. Kelly did indeed murder his wife by stabbing her in the neck with a pen knife, but she was definitely not ripped for she lived two days after the attack. It was a classic case of a crime of passion. After his conviction, Kelly is admitted to Broadmoor, where he escapes and spends the next forty years on the lam. I find it intersting that Tully whould have you believe that Kelly was so scared of being apprehended by the police that you know what he decded to do -- he went on a murderous rampage in the heart of a metropolitan area do draw attention AWAY from himself. Okay. I know the man was crazy, but that's not how one keeps a low profile when running from the police. Tully even tries to tie Kelly to the first Ripper letter written to the police, which any serious student of the case believes was written by an Fleet Street journalist as a publicity stunt. Nowhere else in either Europe or America did these murders repeat so it appears that the Jack the Ripper killing helped Kelly "get it out of his system". Yes, there are some interesting coincidences in Kelly's placements and the Ripper killings -- one of the victims was even named Kelly. But please people -- Kelly's profile is of a hot tempered schitzo with viloent tendencies. Much like the other 500,000 men living in Whitechapel at the time. The book as a biography of this tortured soul is indeed well researched and compelling. It's only when Tully tries to tie Kelly to the Ripper killings that the suppositions begin to fly. And here's another coincidence -- TuLLY and KeLLY both end in "LLY" and "LLY" could stand for "Lie". Eh, just a thought.

Rating:
Summary: Only a Madman Would Believe Kelly was the Ripper
Review: Like so many authors before him, James Tully seems to have ignored one small detail about Jack the Ripper before setting off in pursuit of his "pet" suspect. Jack the Ripper was a sexual serial killer, a secretive little man with a maniacal chip on his shoulder against women. He didn't have an agenda and he didn't have a motive in the classic sense. He was one of the faceless million living in squalor in London's East End and it is quite possible we will never know who he truely was. However, Tully would have you believe it was James Kelly -- a paranoid schitzophrenic who escaped from Broadmoor asylum in the years just prior to the murders. Kelly did indeed murder his wife by stabbing her in the neck with a pen knife, but she was definitely not ripped for she lived two days after the attack. It was a classic case of a crime of passion. After his conviction, Kelly is admitted to Broadmoor, where he escapes and spends the next forty years on the lam. I find it intersting that Tully whould have you believe that Kelly was so scared of being apprehended by the police that you know what he decded to do -- he went on a murderous rampage in the heart of a metropolitan area do draw attention AWAY from himself. Okay. I know the man was crazy, but that's not how one keeps a low profile when running from the police. Tully even tries to tie Kelly to the first Ripper letter written to the police, which any serious student of the case believes was written by an Fleet Street journalist as a publicity stunt. Nowhere else in either Europe or America did these murders repeat so it appears that the Jack the Ripper killing helped Kelly "get it out of his system". Yes, there are some interesting coincidences in Kelly's placements and the Ripper killings -- one of the victims was even named Kelly. But please people -- Kelly's profile is of a hot tempered schitzo with viloent tendencies. Much like the other 500,000 men living in Whitechapel at the time. The book as a biography of this tortured soul is indeed well researched and compelling. It's only when Tully tries to tie Kelly to the Ripper killings that the suppositions begin to fly. And here's another coincidence -- TuLLY and KeLLY both end in "LLY" and "LLY" could stand for "Lie". Eh, just a thought.

Rating:
Summary: Do you enjoy speculation?
Review: Tully theorizes that Jack is really James(John)Kelly, an inmate of the Broadmoor, commited for murdering his wife by stabbing her in the neck. The notable fact is that he escaped from that facility in 1888 prior to the first of the Whitechapel murders. Here is a true madman, a paranoid who deeply distrusts women, has a history of a violent attack in early Ripper style, and is on the loose in London at precisely the correct time. Tully's case is bolstered by the very strange actions of the constabulary, whose attempts to recapture Kelly were half-hearted at best; orders being given, for instance, that if identified Kelly was not to be arrested(???). Unfortunately, there is little beyond these coincidences to make the case. As usual many questions are raised, but answers are in limited supply. Still, I recommend this book for its very plausible argument and excellent style.

Rating:
Summary: Do you enjoy speculation?
Review: While author James Tully presents a rational and logical argument for James Kelly as Jack the Ripper, most of Tully's arguments are based on circumstancial evidence, inductive reasoning, and details which easily could be merely coincidental. That's not to say the arguments fail to persuade -- in fact, Tully presents a great deal to consider. However, for this story to gain acceptance as the definitive solution, a great many more unanswered questions and possible alternative explanations would need resolved. It's food for thought he's trying to construct as a full explanatory meal. I'd recommend borrowing it from the library before buying it, if you are considering adding it to your collection.