By Ned DeHan
The first time that I saw Henry Hodges was on an episode of the famed prison documentary series, “Lock Up.” The narrator introduced him as the most dangerous inmate in the Riverbend Maximum Security prison, and specifically on death row. Hodges was only shown on camera for a moment, and all you could see was a mop of messy red hair walking by, but his name always stayed with me because the narrator introduced him as…
“Serial killer Henry Hodges. Whenever he leaves his cell, he has to be escorted by five prison guards at all times, and one of them is holding a video camera to document and display the reasons why they chose to use force on him.”
Henry Hodges turned down Lock Up’s request for an interview, so I, and I expect many, were left wondering what was the full story behind his case?
Years later I started the true crime channel, Black Box Online Radio, on YouTube, and one story that I chose to reexamine was the case of Henry Hodges.
The story of Henry Hodges begins in the late 1980’s. Dare magazine reports that his first confirmed crime was committed in 1989, and between ’89 and 1990, he was responsible for three confirmed homicides. However, Hodges is also a suspect in five murders, and his guilt has not been determined; although, he is strongly considered as the culprit.
In the late 80’s and early 90’s, Henry Hodges roamed around the American Deep South. His criminal activities began in Tennessee and moved toward Atlanta. For a time he cruised around in his 1980 Pontiac Skyhawk moving from one crime to the next. The photographer, John Spink, took a powerful photo of the Skyhawk, as it sat outside in the parking lot of a motel.
Some sources have listed Hodges as a homosexual serial killer, but it is important to note that he was in a heterosexual relationship at the start of the murders with a teenage girl named Trina Brown. However, Hodges ended up in illegal prostitution offering his services to men. The Atlanta Constitution reports that chose to move from Tennessee to Atlanta because “the business was better,” referring to how it was easier to find male clients. With his first confirmed homicide, the murder of Barry MacDonald, Hodges planned a robbery, but he also carried a knife and stabbed MacDonald 38 times. Even though every case is different, it is not uncommon for a serial killer to commit the first murder in an unplanned way.
The Tennessee Supreme Court has shared the documents for the case of the State v. Hodges in 1997, and with his second homicide, the murder of Ronald Bassett, he tied him up and strangled him with a nylon rope, which would become Hodges’ signature method.
At first glance, it appears that the motivation for the crimes was two-fold; Hodges had a deliberate plan to murder Ronald Bassett, but a clear financial motive was present as well. Hodges would go on to strangle his next victim, Michael Wisnant in a similar manner. In this case, he used a curtain cord. Wisnant’s body was found inside the Atlanta Hilton Hotel, strangled with the cord. The Atlanta Constitution shared a quotation from the Medical Examiner, Thomas Young, which states that it was apparent that Wisnant fought for his life. “There were scrapes all over his body,” he said. Michael Wisnant was in Atlanta on a work-related trip and attended business seminars, but behind closed doors late at night, he spent time with Henry Hodges. After being strangled with the curtain cord, Hodges robbed Michael Wisnant, taking his valuables, which included jewellry. When Hodges was eventually caught, his Pontiac Skyhawk was found with a large container of bleach in the trunk. One can only wonder if it was obtained as part of a plan to destroy evidence if Hodges was able to continue his criminal misdeeds.
The Atlanta Journal released an article in 1990 that detailed how Henry Hodges located Michael Wisnant and other victims. He was known to patrol gay bars and work as a homosexual prostitute. He stood out among the other bar patrons because of his large muscular frame, but he became a nuisance to the bouncers, employees, and even certain customers in the bar. Multiple times he was turned away from a gay bars because of his reputation, and the bar staff knew exactly why Hodges was trying to stay at the bar, to lure men away and commit illegal acts of prostitution. Michael Wisnant met his unfortunate fate one night when Hodges performed this type of routine. The Atlanta Journal also reports that the way that Hodges targeted his victims was purely anonymous. While he did make the agreement to have sexual relations with them in exchange for money, the transactions were anonymous, and names and identities were not shared.
While Hodges was convicted for three murders, he is a suspect in five other homicides. Some have very similar characteristics to his confirmed crimes, but others are reasonably different, so his role in the murders is not certifiable. For example, The Charlotte Observer reports that with the murder of Vernon Larkins, he was found dead, bound and gagged. In some ways gagging a victim is similar to the strangulation method used by Hodges.
To continue with noting the differences among the unconfirmed victims of Henry Hodges, in 1989 a man named Roland Van Dyck. Unlike the strangled victims or the Larkins murder, Roland Van Dyck was found in the trunk of his car, and he had been shot to death with multiple bullets penetrating his head. The Tennessean news also reports that a man named Robert Sibert was shot to death in a similar way, and both men could be victims of Hodges.
It is important to note that there are two additional possible victims of this serial killer, but the police have not released their names. The Tennessean also states that the only info that has been provided about them is that they were homosexual men, and they were found inside their homes.
The Atlanta Constitution reports that Hodges eventually confessed to being a murderer, but he was very vague about the details. In an odd turn of events, Hodges wanted it to be clearly known that he was a killer. The Atlanta Constitution revealed a quotation from Hodges, “if you don’t think I’m a criminal, wait until 10 tomorrow.” When I first read this quotation, I thought it sounded like someone was expecting to be mentioned on the evening news, but authorities who were quoted in the Constitution article stated that they thought he simply meant the police would find more evidence by a specific date and time. However, one thing Hodges was extremely unclear about was the number of people he murdered; he was on the record stating, “maybe four or five.” This could be indicative of two possibilities. The first is that Hodges, in his own sociopathic way, thought so little about his victims that the murderous actions meant nothing to him, and the second is similar; he did not have a strong memory to begin with, but taking the life of another human just seemed like an ordinary occurrence, just an escalation in his plans to earn money illegally and be a criminal lowlife. No matter how the hairs are split, it appears that these are sociopathic tendencies exhibited by Hodges.
In 2025, Michael King released the book, “Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing,” which emphasizes some of these points in relation to psychopathic and sociopathic serial killers. If a serial killer commits a murder, transports the victim's body, and buries them in the ground, this shows a higher degree of neuroticism, and the killer is worried about something. If the killer leaves the body in a memorial-type setting, such as covering the victim with a sheet, or placing them in a funeral-type pose, this shows that there is some recognition of the victim’s humanity. However, in contrast, if a serial killer murders the victim, and leaves the body exactly where they fell or untouched, it shows no regard for human life. The serial killer is treating the victim as if they were an ordinary object, or if they knocked over a garbage can, and no one was around, so nobody knows that they did it, and they don’t have to clean up the mess. Hodges’ treatment of his victim, Michael Wisnant, appears to coincide with the mentioned psychopathic behaviors, as Wisnant was left inside a hotel room, strangled, and Hodges fled the scene.
While it is impossible to determine if Henry Hodges is truly guilty of the other five murders without conclusive forensic evidence, I tend to believe that he did not commit the shooting deaths. Some people insist that serial killers develop a pattern of behavior, and their crimes escalate while they follow the pattern. I am not 100% attached to this theory; however, I think the evolution of serial killer patterns is more important for this discussion.
The book “Killing for Sport” proposes that a serial killer will often commit the first crime in an unplanned way. The second crime is committed to recreate the first crime because the serial killer wants to see if it can be done twice, and as Joel Rifkin stated, a serial killer can also rationalize committing murder for a second time in his own twisted way. To elaborate, Rifkin stated that “they can only get you for one, so the second one is free,” meaning that someone can only serve one life sentence in prison, or only be executed one time. Thus, they choose to do it again, and by the third murder a pattern has been established. Serial killers, just like other people, can become horribly inconsistent, so I will only share a possible interpretation of the evidence, and the crimes committed by gunshot do not appear to fit into the mold of a serial killer who was evolving with a pattern.
Another academic who has covered the field of serial killers in an extensive manner is Dr. Ann Burgess, a professor at Boston University and author of the book, “A Killer by Design.” Dr. Burgess examined a sample of 23 serial killers, and her task was to identify commonalities among the murderers. One commonality she noted was that the serial killers in question all had a specific grudge against someone or something. To specify, the term grudge is her chosen label for the issue, and I think that a correct and fair interpretation of the meaning should be that there is a specific individual or group that has caused the serial killer to experience trauma in their lives. Then, this individual grows up with animosity and loathing for that person or group. Next, they want to recreate the cycle of destructive behaviors by inflicting pain and suffering on individuals who resemble, remind, or symbolize the person (or persons) who created the trauma in their lives. This becomes a clear case of repeating a destructive behavior because the assailant is trying to tell themselves that what they experienced as a child was normal.
This statement has also been echoed by a different academic in the field, Dr. Julie Armstrong, who shared the statement. “A serial killer wants people to feel fear because they felt fear when they were young. A serial killer wants the victims to feel powerless because they felt powerless when they were young. A serial killer wants people to feel misery because they felt misery when they were young.”
Even though Hodges is a convicted murderer and serial killer with as many as eight victims, the reason why his story has been shared so frequently is because of his outrageous and volatile prison behavior. As previously stated, that is how I learned about him. In 2022, Hodges would make international headlines when a story of his violent antics behind bars was shared with the media. Tennessee’s News Channel Five reports that Hodges used a razor blade that had been illegally obtained in prison to slice off his own penis and held it up for guards to see.
Hodges’ correctional officers share their experiences in threads on the internet, including on my channel, Black Box Online Radio, where his former CO states that he was “hands down the scariest human I’ve ever met!” As a response to the piece from News Channel Five, a different correctional officer stated that the reason why Hodges chose to slice off his own penis was because special food packages were given to inmates as rewards for good behavior, and Hodges had ordered a package, but when his behavior worsened, he was denied the food package reward. Next, Hodges used the smuggled razor blade to cut off his penis and held it up for the guards to see stating…
“Should I eat this?” and “You can suck this!”
Hodges was taken to a hospital and given a ten day stay after surgeons reattached his penis. However, there were complications following the procedure and ultimately his penis had to be removed.
Hodges was reported to have been relatively calm in the hospital, but once he returned to the Riverbend Maximum Security prison, he was placed in one of the most intense settings that any prisoner in America experiences.
First, Hodges was cuffed to a prison bed. Next, they added four-point restraints, which were put on so tightly his arm turned purple. Then, two more restraints were added to limit the movements of his arms at all. His correctional officers have stated that the reason for this is that Hodges is strong enough to break a single pair of chain handcuffs and referring back to my original observations of him on Lock Up, if he is not completely restrained, he will start attacking the prison staff, particularly headbutting them in a relentless manner. Video footage of Hodges being secured to the bed has been released on YouTube, and he can be heard screaming; the screams last for roughly a second each. This is how Henry Hodges became known as the Screaming Strangler.
Hodges regularly complains of intense pain from the restraints, but one of his former correctional officers shared his side of the story and stated that even while cutting his own penis with a razor blade, Hodges did not appear to be in any pain. The prison staff believes that Hodges is only pretending to be in pain in an effort to manipulate the staffers into given him special privileges.
Hodges is represented by an attorney named Kelley Henry. She states that while Hodges is one of the most dangerous inmates in America, he is also one of the most mentally ill. He may have committed crimes that have resulted in placing him on death row, but that does not change the fact that he is dealing with an intense mental illness or possibly a combination of mental illnesses.
She states that Hodges needs to be moved to a psychiatric institution where he can be examined by doctors, receive medication, and the medication levels can be monitored. Furthermore, instead of being tied to secured to a bed, which is actually a thin mattress on top of a concrete slab, he should be medicated and given the appropriate abilities to wash himself in a sanitary manner with not only soap, but also with cleaning wipes, none of which was observed by the News Channel Five team during their documentary footage.
In conclusion, there is no doubt that Henry Hodges is mentally ill, and perhaps it is true that he is the most mentally ill inmate in America, but several questions have arisen. Should a person with an extreme mental illness or displaying intense mentally ill behaviors be executed at all?
From observing Henry Hodges in the news footage and from listening to the stories of his CO’s, it becomes apparent that Henry Hodges has complete awareness of everything that he is doing. The fact that he chose to cut off his own penis because of a personal dispute and make comments about it shows that he understood everything that he was doing. This means that even though he is mentally ill, he knows about the consequences of his actions, and perhaps he understood everything as well when he committed his crimes as a serial killer that placed him on death row in the first place.
The death penalty turns into a tricky situation. Some argue that the death penalty should not exist at all, and others argue that it is an appropriate punishment for the crimes that are extremely heinous and that some people are so dangerous that they cannot even live in the prison system. The fact of the matter is that the death penalty currently exists in America, and Henry Hodges broke the law. He robbed and murdered multiple people for profit. He has also regularly attacked prison staff and has used his own strength, bulkiness, and pain tolerance to harass them. He understands the course of his actions, and he knows fully well what he is doing. Therefore, I would argue that his mental state does not warrant him being removed from death row, and the execution should proceed. Otherwise, it simply turns into another inmate trying to push the boundaries of the prison system to get out of jail, even if that means cutting off his own penis.
The death penalty has also reentered the American conversation following the plea deal in the Bryan Kohberger case, where Kohberger entered a guilty plea to the four counts of murder and one count of burglary. Following the Idaho quadruple homicide, many citizens in the American public were demanding a death sentence, and they were outraged at even the possibility of the judge, the courts, and anyone in the system even considering a plea deal. These claims did not only come from armchair detectives and avid true crime followers; they came from the family members of the victims, particularly the Goncalves family, who lost their daughter Kaylee Goncalves at the hand of Kohberger.
The connections to the Hodges case are as clear as the connections to any other death penalty case. If someone has been convicted of murder, should the most extreme punishment be execution? Following the Idaho murders, countless individuals have filled discussion forums online with statements such as, “if you take a life, you should lose your own life,” or “if you murder someone, you should not have the right to live.”
However, with the case of Henry Hodges, the death penalty has to be introduced in a different manner. Does the death penalty exist in the United States for especially heinous offenders? Yes, of course it does, but the ethical questions that have arisen from the Hodges case have morphed into, " Should a person with an extreme mental illness be executed? Or should they be removed from death row and be relocated to a psychiatric facility? It is quite possible that Hodges was sane during the commission of the murders; moreover, he almost certainly had complete awareness of his mental faculties at the time of the homicides, and to date, I have not seen anything from the videography, witness statements, recordings, or from his attorney that would indicate that he truly lost awareness of his mental faculties. Is he mentally ill? Absolutely. But is he not guilty by mental disease or defect? I state absolutely not.
By contrast, an organization has spoken out on Hodges’ behalf called TASMIE, the Tennessee Alliance for Severe Mental Illness Exclusion. They appeared on Tennessee’s News Channel 5 to make the case that Hodges should be transferred to a mental health facility. Perhaps, a fair way of articulating their stance is that no person with a severe mental illness should be executed, and Hodges experiences an extreme psychotic disorder. TASMIE offered most of the same points as Hodges’ attorney, Kelley Henry. In fact, their reasons for removing Hodges from death row were almost identical and verbatim. TASMIE stated that the prison is unable to supervise the delivery of medication, and even if they are able to dispense medication, it is unclear whether or not it is administered properly.
However, the administration of medication is not as simple as it seems. Hodges also appears on video directly stating that he is refusing all treatments, which would include medication. Organizations such as TASMIE come from a place of honest care and concern, and I don’t think there are many opponents of that statement, yet when it comes to a prisoner and/or patient refusing treatments, other laws may be violated if certain medical procedures are forced.
On a personal note, I have the suspicion that the prison system is wary of releasing Hodges to a mental health facility, only to have him refuse treatment there, or be noncooperative with the medical staff at the facility. If that were the case, an inmate would have found a way to get off death row, and simply, by being disobedient, abrasive, rough, and troublesome, they would be rewarded with more comfortable living conditions. I do not doubt the severity of Hodges’ mental illness, but if there is a low chance that his situation is going to improve, removing him from the Riverbend Prison would be futile, and the objective would not be accomplished.
The attorney for Henry Hodges filed a motion to label the actions of the prison as torturous. When the motion was filed, they stated that Henry Hodges is a human being. While, he is a convicted murderer (and serial killer) he is an adult survivor of kidnapping, rape, and other forms of sexual abuse. When his attorney, Kelley Henry, visited Hodges prior to the filing of the motion, she stated that after being confined to the prison bed, which is a thin mattress over a concrete slab, for 23 hours a day or more, his entire left leg was immobile, and he had intense numbness all over his body.
The prison argues that Hodges is kept in those conditions for his own safety, as well as the safety of the correctional officers and staff. Does it border on torturous? Sometimes, yes. But one part of the claim that is not relevant to this discussion is the abuse that Hodges experienced as a child and young adult. Claiming that the prisoner is part of the cycle of destructive behaviors is not an acceptable plea for a nicer prison cell. Henry Hodges murdered at least three people; he may have murdered as many as eight people, and at a certain point, one must consider the law. I, for one, am a strong believer in Not Guilty by Mental Disease or Defect, but it seemed apparent at the time of his trial, and more importantly at the time of the murders, that Hodges had complete control of his mental faculties. Therefore, he does not meet the criteria. It is an absolute tragedy that someone like Hodges experienced any form of abuse when he was younger. No innocent person deserves to be abused in that way, but that is by no means a justification to commit homicide. Furthermore, Henry Hodges was working as a male prostitute, and very clearly, he was committing the crimes because of a combination of rage and robbery.
In life, there is a term that is used called, “the grey area,” and someone once said that by exploring the gray area we get closer to the truth. The situations that Henry Hodges faced seemed to be a debate about protecting the prison staff, as well as Hodges himself, and recognizing that a man with a severe psychotic disorder was held in intentionally painful conditions. In this situation, it is possible for both sides to be acknowledged. Chancellor I’Ashea Myles ordered that Henry Hodges should be allowed to be clothed and to sleep with the light on at night. A prisoner can be restrained without torture, and the staff can also be protected.
The story of Henry Hodges has also made its way into different internet spheres. Hodges was featured in a video from the channel, “Death Files,” titled “Tennessee’s Most Notorious Death Row Prisoners.” While this channel got the state right, very other facts were stated in alignment with the other more credible sources. For starters, “Death Files” claimed that Henry Hodges committed his first murder when he lured a man named Harold Collins to a jobsite. Then, Hodges robbed and murdered him. This was the only homicide committed by Hodges that was detailed in the video, yet Henry Hodges was never convicted of murdering a man named Harold Collins. What I was predicting is perhaps it was a mistake, and they were thinking of the victim, Barry McDonald. However, certain details in the presentation do match with aspects of Henry Hodges’ M.O. Death Files reports that Hodges called a telephone service repairman to come to a location for repairs, and when Collins arrived, he was attacked, robbed, and murdered by Hodges. There are some similarities in the story, but it appears that the video is nothing more than a hacksaw job where different parts have been cut apart and then stitched together again.
The ”Death Files” video also discussed the famous mutilation incident where Henry Hodges cut off his own penis; however, they stated that he committed the act with broken glass, and all other sources state that it was done with a razor that Hodges had illegally obtained while in prison. The next part of their depiction of Henry Hodges is the most important. By using the events that they have detailed, they were composing a narrative that should suggest that Henry Hodges was mentally incompetent and lost control of his faculties. Death Files stated that the mutilation was not only a cry for help, but it was a demonstration that Hodges had lost control of his mental faculties.
This statement does not hold up easily, especially when it is partnered with the variants of the story, which report that Hodges cut off his own penis because he was denied a food package as a reward and held it up for the guards to see. Whether it is the Death Files, News Channel 5, or other sources, they make a strong effort to depict the guards and staff from the Department of Corrections as ill-willed characters who are sadists and want to inflict pain upon a mentally ill prisoner who does not have any idea what is going on. Even in the Death Files video, it is stated very clearly that the State of Tennessee has not right to execute Hodges, or any other mentally ill individual, if their mental illness is so severe that they are unaware of their own faculties, but as previously stated in this article, I must dispute that. If Hodges were able to make the conscious decision to mutilate himself because he didn’t get the food that he wanted, he is showing a strong awareness of his own mind. He did that specifically to provoke the prison guards and to get a specific reaction out of them. Contrary to their depiction in the media, I side with the officers who have given their firsthand accounts of Hodges, and state that he is acting to try and manipulate people. There is no challenge to the declaration that Henry Hodges is mentally ill, but it becomes apparent that he knows exactly what he is doing.
The final note on the presentation from the Death Files is that is most likely that they tried to create the video with AI. New technologies exist that will make video production easier for content creators. While that is convenient for them, it also leads to an increased usage of auto-generated text and scripts, and perhaps the inaccuracies, confusing statements, and paper-thin arguments that were shared in the video were the result of a computer-generated text. More and more content will be shared with pre-written technology that will make it faster video editors to distribute their content, but the true crime genre, as well as others, are faced with a new threat. False information will be shared at an exorbitant rate. Accuracy is already extremely difficult in the world of true crime. In this article, I have cited numerous quotations from the original news coverage, but by doing so, I am trusting that the news articles that were written closest to the scene have a certain degree of accuracy. It is a challenge for anyone to write a story that is based on sources from 1990, so with the rise of AI, we are faced with a new challenge, and the only way to fight against it is by exposing it.
However, the case of Henry Hodges goes well beyond user-generated content. After Hodges sliced off his own penis, he entered into the international spotlight. The Associated Press released an article in December of 2022, written by Travis Loller, which explores whether or not Hodges’ prison records should be released to the public. Hodges via his attorneys argued that he was being held in unfair and inhumane conditions. He was forced to stay on a thin mattress atop a concrete slab for hours at a time. After he cut off his penis, he was taken to Vanderbilt Medical Center, where his genitalia was surgically reattached, but due to necrosis, it was eventually removed. Following the surgical procedure, Hodges was advised by medical personnel not to sit for more than two hours at a time. The prison authorities do not even deny that he was kept on the mattress for six hours without any form of movement.
On a personal note, it is clear and apparent that Hodges serves as a danger to the prison officers and staff. He has made repeated efforts to injure the guards, and they are not only concerned for their safety, but they are acting this way out of necessity; however, this is not a story with only two sides. Again, personally speaking, even if he serves as a danger, medical advice should not be ignored. If someone is unable to sit for two hours, and they are forced to sit, that does indeed lead to mistreatment and misconduct. If that were the only issue at hand, I would put full blame on the prison staff for creating conditions that violated the advice and direction of medical doctors, but that is not where this discussion ends. Multiple reasons exist to explain Hodges’ treatment. The simplest explanation proffered by the state is that Hodges was never kept sitting for two hours. He was lying down in a flat position, while he was restrained to the bed, and lying in bed and sitting are two different circumstances. The state also reported to the Associated Press that they insist that no mistreatment occurred, and they were keeping Hodges in those restraints for the protection of the prison staff, as well as himself. Hodges cut off his own penis because he did not get the food package that he wanted, so he has already demonstrated that his violent tendencies can be directed at anyone and can include self-mutilation.
Ben Leonard, a federal investigator, was tasked with reviewing the case of Henry Hodges. He found that the State of Tennessee did not want photos and videos of Hodges’ time in Riverbend released to the public because they claimed it would jeopardize the security of the prison. It could reveal the location of cameras, the layout of the prison, and other weaknesses in the design of Riverbend. Leonard found these claims to be inadequate, stating that Riverbend Maximum Security Prison has its own YouTube channel, where the locations in question have already been revealed to the public. On a personal note again, it is hard to side with the state on this matter. Overall, I have been mostly on their side when it comes to the measures that they have used to restrain and detain Hodges, for he is a significantly larger risk to the prison staff than perhaps any other inmate in America, yet I find it hard to defend them when they are making a statement that can be easily rebuked. Ben Leonard seems to have dismissed the claim rather easily by pointing out that the prison already shares their info publicly. In this case and with this exact issue, it appears that the prison is trying to avoid the problem, rather than confronting it. They believe wholeheartedly in their defense, but they do not want to deal with protesters.
Of course, the Associated Press is taking the side of Freedom of Information, and they want the records released. Paul McAdoo, an attorney who represents the AP, claims that the defendants (the State) are public officials, and the case has generated public concern. Therefore, the records should be released. I have to agree and be on the side of freedom. This is an issue where I can comprehend both sides of the story, and even though I believe the actions of the prison staff are justified, I am forced to call the State of Tennessee cowardly for not releasing the records. Again, certain people might try to cause an uproar when they learn certain details in the case of Hodges. I do indeed believe that the prison staff are using very intensive force on him, but the fact of the matter is that they are doing so for safety and security reasons. As they saying goes, the only people who have secrets are those with something to hide. By not releasing the records, they are making themselves look guilty. I say, release the records. Put the material out there. Then, provide explanations about the reasons why Henry Hodges has been confined in the exact manner. I think the testimonials that have already been featured in this article are sufficient to demonstrate that he is deliberately trying to assault staff members in a calculated and conscious way. He has demonstrated that he is a clear danger to them. If you’re not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to hide.
In 2025, an article was featured in the Nashville Banner that discussed the background of Henry Hodges, and it stated that even though Hodges is a serial killer, he still has rights as a human being, and as a human being, one should remember that he is also an adult survivor of childhood abduction and rape. He is a person who lives with a mental illness that results in severe psychosis. From the other sources, it appears that the mental illness angle of the argument is more persuasive. To take a strong stance, being a survivor of abuse in the past is absolutely unacceptable for receiving lighter punishments and less powerful restraints. It is almost certain that Hodges endured horrible abuses when he was younger, and I think that all parties would admit that those are some of the worst conditions and experiences that a human can endure. However, abuse in the past is by no means a justification for committing murder and receiving more prison benefits.
To demonstrate that this is a very complicated issue, even though I comprehend that the correctional staff at the Riverbend Maximum Security Prison has a solid reason for adding the extra restraints, I am forced to admit that it is bizarre. As I played out the words for this article in my mind, I thought of the descriptive word “bizarre.” And if something is bizarre, by definition, it is unusual, and unusual punishment is not permitted by the U.S. Constitution. I don’t condone any actions that Henry Hodges committed when he was younger, which sent him to prison for the rest of his life, and ultimately, the death sentence, but in terms of responsibilities, prisoners still have rights.
To clarify, the prison staff is between a rock and a hard place. They have an inmate who is capable for causing injuries and bodily harm to the prison staff, who if not restrained, is going to continually headbutt the staff members, breaking their noses and browbones, until he is subdued. They placed Henry Eugene Hodges in an intense form of restraints because he served as a clear and present danger to the people who worked with him. What should their alternative be? Put correctional staff officers in a position where they can be repeatedly injured? That also would violate their rights.
I am someone who has been mostly anti-death penalty for the majority of my life, but the case of Henry Hodges has challenged the limits. Do they violate his right to be free from unusual punishment? Or do they put the staff at risk of being harmed? One solution would be to proceed with the execution, and the Nashville Banner has also reported that the State of Tennessee will resume executions in 2025. Henry Eugene Hodges has demonstrated that he is someone who is so dangerous that he cannot even be contained in a maximum-security facility without causing injury to the people around him. He is a convicted murderer, serial killer, and he harasses and injures the staff. When I was younger, it was my understanding that the death penalty exists because someone has demonstrated that they have become a clear and present danger to society; they have revealed that they are so dangerous that they cannot even exist within the walls of a prison without causing harm. Therefore, they should be executed.
The alternative for Henry Eugene Hodges is to be moved to a psychiatric care facility, and even though I just argued for being in favor of the death penalty, the compassionate side of me wants that to happen (in this case the compassionate side is losing the argument). I do admit that it would be a solution to the problem, and Henry Hodges would most likely receive better treatment. Perhaps medications could be administered that would curb his destructive behavior and stop the screaming.
The only reason why I call that a less defensible outcome is that I believe that Henry Eugene Hodges is guilty. He should not be found not guilty by mental disease or defect, and moving an unruly inmate to a more comfortable facility would set a bad precedent for the prison system. Any inmate could use this as a loophole to not only get out of jail, but also get off death row, by abusing the prison staff to an extreme degree. Furthermore, if someone is only being moved to a mental health facility because of their destructive tendencies, which they appear to be fully aware of and consciously choose to do, then that would be rewarding destructive behavior.
Other complications arose regarding Henry Hodge’s mental state when he was captured. Even though the opponents of the death penalty are making the case that his mental health has worsened while in prison, something else must also be considered. Was Hodges psychotic at the time of the crimes? To explore this more, we can return to an article that was written by the Charlotte Observer following the death of Michael Whisnant. Hodges had stolen Whisnant’s car, which was a blue 1986 Mercury Cougar. Once the authorities had tracked the car down, they found a female inside who was conscious and sitting in the car. She gave Hodges up and told the police that he was nearby. Then, they proceeded to use search dogs to track him down.
What’s more telling about the events is not that Hodges had an accomplice who gave him up easily, but what was inside the car. They found marijuana, credit cards, and jewelry. It appeared that Hodges’ plan the whole time was to murder Michael Whisnant and steal his drugs, funds, and valuables. It is quite difficult to form an insanity defense when almost every act of the perpetrator is done with calculation and awareness. Hodges does indeed have mental health issues, but he has also been convicted of murder; he is indeed a serial killer, and it appeared that he killed people for drugs, money, and in certain instances because of nothing more than his own personal rage.
Hodges’ accomplice also reported that they had stolen other items from victims and brought them from Tennessee to Atlanta, Georgia, which included a TV and a videocassette recorder. This clearly demonstrates that Henry Eugene Hodges had no regard for the law, for the well-being of other people, and even for himself. He was roaming around the Southern part of the United States committing murders and robberies, and who knows how far his path of destruction would end if he were not apprehended?
In all seriousness, sitting on death row is a very fitting place for Henry Eugene Hodges, but in some ways, he has raised a question. Is it possible for an inmate to become so volatile that he has surpassed the capabilities of the prison system? Is it possible that an inmate has pushed the boundaries of ethical treatment so far that he must be removed from the Department of Corrections in its entirety? With Henry Hodges, I think the State of Tennessee is between a rock and a hard place. They can either admit that Hodges has become so dangerous that the prison cannot handle him and move him to a more comfortable arrangement in a mental health institution (which might be his plan from the start) or they can expedite the execution (if legally permissible). The situation might seem difficult to assess, but one thing is clear: if they continue the current set of arrangements, they are violating his rights and practicing cruel and unusual punishment, with particular emphasis on unusual.
As someone who has been anti-death penalty for most of my life, I admit that this case challenges all of that, and I propose that the State of Tennessee expedite the execution.
Editor's note: this article ran in Serial Killer Magazine and is reproduced as written, including its closing opinion, which is the author's and not this archive's position on the death penalty. Henry Eugene Hodges has no entry in this roster. He was convicted of the 1990 murder of Ronald Bassett in Nashville and sentenced to death, and he remains on Tennessee's death row; the further offences described here come from the author's own research and from Hodges's account of himself, and only the Bassett conviction is a matter of judgment. Joel Rifkin, mentioned in passing, is recorded here with nine convictions and seventeen deaths attributed.