Arthur Frederick Goode III (March 28, 1954 – April 5, 1984) was a convicted child murderer who was

electrocuted Electrocution is death or severe injury caused by electric shock from electric current passing through the body. The word is derived from "electro" and "execution", but it is also used for accidental death. The term "electrocution" was coined ...

in Florida in 1984. Goode, who was borderline mentally retarded, began to show the behavior of a

pedophile Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty a ...

in his teenage years and got into trouble with the law early, but was always released when his parents posted bail. In mid-1975, after several reprobations of child abuse (among those the molestation of a boy of 9 years and one of 11 years), Goode was sentenced to five years of probation under the condition of psychological treatment at

Spring Grove Hospital Center Spring Grove Hospital Center, formerly known as Spring Grove State Hospital, is a psychiatric hospital located in the Baltimore, Maryland, suburb of Catonsville. Founded in 1797 as a general medical and psychiatric retreat, Spring Grove Mental ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. Goode admitted himself to the treatment for several days but then left the institution and journeyed to Cape Coral,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, where his parents had moved. On March 5, 1976, Goode committed the murder for which he was to be executed. In Cape Coral, he happened upon 9-year-old Jason VerDow, lured him into the woods, abused and then strangled him. Afterwards, he traveled back to Baltimore, where he abducted 10-year-old Billy Arthes and took him to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

There he met 11-year-old Kenneth Dawson and took both boys with him on a bus trip to

Falls Church Falls Church is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is included in the Washington metropolitan area. Taking its name from The Falls Church, an 18th-century Churc ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, where he murdered Dawson with Arthes being present. Goode was apprehended by the police after a woman recognized Billy Arthes (who had since been reported as kidnapped but was physically unharmed on Goode's arrest). On being arrested, Goode told the officers: "You can't do nothing to me. I'm sick." A jury in Maryland found him sane and guilty of murder and gave him a

life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

. Hereafter, he also received a trial in Florida for the murder of Jason VerDow. He was permitted to conduct his own defense and was sentenced to death on March 21, 1977. Goode's father described him as, "crazier than hell and dumber than a box of rocks." One month before his death, Goode was interviewed by John Waters for the ''Baltimore City Paper''. Goode admitted to being a pedophile and to slaying the two boys, but saw his actions as some kind of "protest against society". He also said that if

pedophiles Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty a ...

were punished less strictly, they wouldn't need to hide by murdering their victims. Goode was said to be one of the most hated men on Florida's death row. He wrote countless letters to school teachers, seeking children for pen pals, and also to the parents of the boys he murdered, boasting of his crimes. He had a fixation with the child actor

Ricky Schroder Richard Bartlett Schroder (born April 13, 1970) is an American actor and filmmaker. As a child actor billed as Ricky Schroder he debuted in the film '' The Champ'' (1979), for which he became the youngest Golden Globe award recipient, and went o ...

, and during an interview on the eve of his execution, he was asked if he had any last request. With a smile, he answered, "Yes, I want Ricky Schroder to sit on my lap when I am strapped into the electric chair." During the interview, he joked with reporters and had no remorse for the killing of the young boy. For his

last meal A condemned prisoner's last meal is a customary ritual preceding execution. In many countries, the prisoner may, within reason, select what the last meal will be. Contemporary restrictions in the United States In the United States, most states gi ...

, Goode had steak, corn, broccoli and cookies. He also reportedly requested to have intercourse with a little boy for the last time. Arthur Goode was killed by electrocution on April 5, 1984. His last words were, "I have remorse for the two boys I murdered. But it's hard for me to show it." Years later when asked to reflect on his involvement in executions, Warden Richard Dugger said, "Arthur Goode was the hardest. I had some real reservations about that one. Let's face it - he was a nut."D. Von Drehle, ''Among The Lowest Of The Dead: The Culture Of Death Row'', New York, Times Book, 1995, p.235

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goode, Arthur 1954 births 1984 deaths American murderers of children American rapists 20th-century executions by Florida American people convicted of child sexual abuse American people executed for murder People executed by Florida by electric chair People convicted of murder by Florida People convicted of murder by Maryland People from Hyattsville, Maryland 20th-century executions of American people Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Maryland Executed people from Maryland Violence against men in North America Incidents of violence against boys

See also

References