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Utah House bill would ban convicts from selling their stories for profit
This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Convicts who commit heinous crimes could not profit from selling their stories under a new Grandson of Sam bill that passed the Utah House unanimously Thursday.

Rep. R. Curt Webb, R-Logan, said his HB52 is an update on the Son of Sam laws that passed after David Berkowitz sold the story of his serial killings in the 1970s.

Webb said his bill would allow those who commit notorious crimes to sell their stories, but the profits from the sale are the property of the state. The revenue would go to pay restitution to the victims of the crimes and any remainder would go to a crime victims' reparations fund.

The bill also applies to the sale of crime memorabilia.

Tom Patterson, director of the Department of Corrections, said he isn't aware of an instance when the previous law had become an issue and doesn't anticipate the new law will make a substantive change.

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