Amy Bishop University of Alabama at Huntsville Shooting Case Gets Curiouser and Curiouser

The case of the biology Professor Amy Bishop, who allegedly fatally shot three of her colleagues and wounded three more at the University of Alabama at Huntsville, has started to get curiouser and curiouser, as the saying goes.

First, contrary to some initial media reports, the meeting where the shootings took place was not concerning Professor Bishop's tenure. Amy Bishop had already been denied tenure at the University of Alabama at Huntsville and has lost her appeal. Professor Bishop was in what is called her "terminal year" in which she was allowed to teach one final year while looking for another teaching position.

In the current job market, Amy Bishop would not likely have acquired a new teaching position. However, even if she were unemployed, Professor Bishop would not be strapped for money. Thanks to a biotech invention Amy Bishop had created as part of her research, she was due to receive a considerable amount of royalties from a new, start up firm.

Nevertheless, Professor Bishop was focused on her lack of tenure, which seems to have finally led to the shooting of three other University of Alabama at Huntsville faculty members.

Second, it seems that the University of Alabama at Huntsville incident was not the first time Amy Bishop was involved in a fatal shooting. It seems that in 1986 Amy Bishop, then 19, fatally shot her brother during an argument with a 12 gauge shot gun. There are now two conflicting stories concerning that shooting. The official story is that the shooting was accidental. Amy Bishop was not charged with any crime.

However, the arresting officer in Braintree, Massachusetts, where the shooting took place, remembers the incident a little differently. According to the Huntsville Times:

"At the Braintree news conference, Chief Frazier read a recollection written this weekend by former Officer Ronald Solimini:

"Bishop fired a round from a pump action shotgun into the wall of her bedroom. She had a fight with her brother and shot him (in the chest), which caused his death. She fired a third round from the shotgun into the ceiling as she exited the home. She fled down the street with the shotgun in her hand. At one point she allegedly pointed the shotgun at a motor vehicle in an attempt to get the driver to stop.'

"Solimini found Bishop, then 19, hiding behind a business, and another officer seized the shotgun from her, Frazier said. She was handcuffed and brought to the police station.

"Frazier said Saturday he'd spoken to another retired officer who booked Bishop at the station.

"'He said he had started the (booking) process when he received a phone call he believes was from then-Police Chief John Polio or possibly from a captain on Chief Polio's behalf,' Frazier said. 'He was instructed to stop the booking process. ... Miss Bishop was turned over to her mother and they left the building via a rear exit.'

"Frazier said another officer said the paperwork from the shooting went missing in 1988."

It seems that the ultimate decision not to file charges was made by then District Attorney William Delahunt. Delahunt is now a United States Congressman.

The question arises why was there not an investigation pursued in the 1986 case? Discharging a shot gun once, accidentally, can certainly be believed. Accidentally firing any kind of firearm three times in a short period is a story that strains credulity. The sudden stopping of the booking process and the release of Amy Bishop to her mother arouses all sorts of suspicions that need to be addressed.

In any case it looks like Amy Bishop is the latest example of someone who may have committed a crime a long time ago, was given leniency, only to commit a more heinous crime later. If Professor Bishop had been locked up for the killing of her brother, it is entirely likely that three human beings, now dead, would still be alive.

Sources: UAH shooting suspect Amy Bishop denied tenure in April, had already lost appeal, Challen Stephens, Huntsville Times, February 14th, 2010

What happened to Amy Bishop's brother? Two conflicting stories arise, Patricia C. McCarter, Huntsville Times, February 14th, 2010