There’s a pretty good summary article in Inside Higher Ed about the murders committed by Amy Bishop at the University of Alabama-Huntsville, “Another Campus Grieves.” Here’s a quote:
The facts in the case are, as is often so in such situations, fluid. Early news reports suggested (incorrectly, it turned out) that Bishop had just learned that she had been denied tenure, leading to speculation that she had cracked under that pressure. But while university officials acknowledged Saturday that Bishop had been denied tenure, they said she had found that out 10 months ago and that her status was not on the agenda of Friday’s regularly scheduled meeting of the biology faculty. The effect of the tenure case on her state of mind, and its contribution to her alleged crime, is a matter of intense debate.
Very sad story, and I think it’s one of those things where it’s really hard to say with any certainty about what caused her to “snap.”
