Last week’s Thanksgiving Thursday served to represent a great event in our country’s history, one of giving, one of sacrifice and one of survival. Yet last week also laid witness to a tragedy, as six hunters were killed in northern Wisconsin by a fellow hunter on a senseless, gruesome rampage.

Accompanying this appalling event was yet another reminder that even here, amid the dairy farms and supposed laid-back Midwest atmosphere, Wisconsin’s history has a dark side.

Saturday marked the 10-year anniversary of an infamous Wisconsin man’s death. Jeffery Dahmer, the most notorious serial killer in our state’s history, was killed by a fellow inmate at the Columbia County Correctional Institute in Portage, Wis. Nov. 28, 1994.

The story of Jeffery Dahmer shows that a code exists even among criminals. The code isn’t black and white, but in certain cases, like that of Dahmer and last week’s massacre, a crime is so far beyond what even criminals see as acceptable that a convict becomes an immediate target in prison. Consequently, Dahmer’s time in jail was short-lived.

Soon after entering the Columbia County Correctional Institute, Dahmer started meeting with a chaplain, attending weekly Bible studies and showing a desire to be baptized. On May 10, 1994, Roy Ratcliff baptized Dahmer, instigating a wave of controversy both within and outside the prison. Many questioned the purpose of baptizing a serial killer, and the criticism further ostracized Dahmer from the rest of the prisoners.

Following the baptism, Dahmer was attacked by a fellow inmate at one of his Bible studies. It was apparent that Dahmer wasn’t safe among the rest of the prisoners, and he was placed in isolation to ensure his security. Yet on Nov. 28, 1994, Dahmer was killed by an inmate, and while the events surrounding his actual death are still uncertain, it is clear that Dahmer was rejected by the rest of the prison society.

Dahmer was an outsider among thieves, rapists, and murderers because his crimes went beyond breaking the law; his actions showed a complete disregard for human decency. Dahmer killed for no other reason than the act itself, horrifically maiming his victims in sixteen different murders. His actions were so far outside what is typical, even for convicted criminals, that he was a target as soon as he entered prison.

Now 10 years after his killings, Jeffery Dahmer is a household name and his perverse, sadistic life has reached legendary status.

Yet the killings of this year’s hunting season have left everyone still trying to grasp what exactly happened and what exactly this means for the sport of hunting.

Chai Vang was arrested last week, and is soon to be charged for the murders of six hunters and the shooting of two others. The incident supposedly started after a disagreement regarding a tree stand on private land in Sawyer County, after which Vang shot a group of unsuspecting hunters and continued shooting those coming to the aid of his original victims. It is undisputed that Vang is responsible for the deaths, and as Wisconsin does not carry the death penalty as a punishment, he will likely receive life in prison.

Upon entering prison, Vang will be as much of a target as Dahmer. In a state with deer hunting ingrained in its culture, Vang’s actions are as — if not more — appalling than Dahmer’s. Vang’s murders were committed randomly against a group composed largely of unarmed men, some of which were chased down before being shot.

Hunting season requires recognition of numerous regulations and a general, unwritten respect for fellow hunters to ensure everyone’s safety and success in the few short weekends allotted each year. Even those without hunters in the family know friends, neighbors, and various members of their community that partake in deer-hunting season. Deer hunting is a Wisconsin tradition that has never witnessed a massacre like it observed last week.

Despite Vang’s crimes, he is still a human deserving of protection under the law: He should be placed in isolation immediately once entering prison or he will likely suffer Dahmer’s fate, potentially in an even shorter period of time.

Some crimes are too horrible for even criminals to comprehend.

When the shock of last week wears off, what will be left is a sick man that committed an act so far outside the confines of the law and so detrimental to an activity inherent in Wisconsin’s culture that Vang will be an immediate target by the rest of his inmates. Vang will therefore be a criminal that even the criminals abhor.

Though he has shown complete disregard for human life, the state must walk a higher ground and provide him extra protection in what will inevitably be a volatile environment in prison.

Jamie Shookman ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in English and political science.