John Hogan Starving to Death by Popular Demand
Ugh. The John Hogan case has got to be the most heart-rending tragedy I’ve encountered in years. New information is leaking out slowly, come of it contradictory. One news report claims that Hogan tossed his son Liam to his death before jumping with his daughter in his arms; another report claims he cradled both kids close before plummeting to what ought to have been his own death. Whatever the truth (either version is despicable), one thing is certain: Hogan wants to do the job right this time. He’s refusing all food and water, and practically begging to die.
As an added twist in this already twisted tale, the Daily Mirror reports that suicide runs in the Hogan family: both of John Hogan’s brothers killed themselves within the past 10 years. The Mirror also mentions that, shortly before the first brother killed himself in 1996, their father died due to complications from multiple sclerosis. Having lost my own dad to MS, I’m no stranger to that pain.
Hogan has, by these accounts, tried to make the most of a fucked-up life. But does that begin to excuse what he’s done, or ameliorate his share of the blame? How many people have faced down similar suffering without chucking their kids off of a balcony? Is it a tragedy that he’s starving himself to death - or should the world simply scoff and say, "You should’ve chosen starvation the first time, asshole"?
What do you think? Does John Hogan deserve any sympathy and compassion?
Tags: britain, greece, john-hogan, kids, murder, son, suicideRelated Stories
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16 opinions for John Hogan Starving to Death by Popular Demand
Jonathan
Aug 22, 2006 at 10:20 am
Having a history like that has got to fuck with a person’s ability to reason things out “normally” you know. Having two brother’s commit suicide in the past 10 years, it would appear that there is something more at play here. That doesn’t excuse what he did though - just gives us a little glimpse into what must be an incredibly tortured soul.
Perhaps he should have starved himself the first time but he didn’t. At the risk of sounding cold…at least he’s doing it now. Although I tend to think it’s a selfish ploy to stop the pain in his life. Still leaves lots of pain for everyone else.
j.
vickie willis
Aug 28, 2006 at 2:44 am
I’m a mother of 3, when my husband and i split 6 months ago, he didnt jump off a biulding with our little girl, infact he put everything he had into her, as did i,he had her more than i did, she was his rock, and him hers, i admired this so much(and other things)we decided to try again and were more in love than ever,it woulda been differet if he’d killed her, i’d have killed him myself.. thats good parents, we did everything for our girl.. and my other kids,, john hogan is a total dick, i dont understand how his wife can be so understanding,, i live 2 miles from them, and feel ashamed to say that,, us bristolians are not all child killing ass holes
vickie willis
Aug 28, 2006 at 2:53 am
oh and i’d like to add.. no john hogan does not deserve anyones sympathy,, a very good friend of mine died 4 yrs ago, by jumping off the same bridge hogans brother leapt from,, but she didnt take her son with her,, if one wants to kill themselfs, fair enough, but you dont kill little children with you,, in fact you try not to kill yourself, you keep going and get lost of help so you can watch your kids grow up and give them a full life,, ive tried to kill myself 11 yrs ago, i was put in hospital on suicide watch, but i never thought for a moment of taking my child with me,, i didnt try again cos she needed me, now im better than ever and my gaughter is 12 and alive and very healthy. he’s an idiot, he thought his wife was having an affair (unfounded reports), so he thought i’ll teach her a lesson, but he’s got to now pay a high price and live with what he did, i hope he lives for a very long time,so no,, he should not have any sympathy not even from his wife, what is she thinking??
Max Lodge
Aug 31, 2006 at 4:47 am
John Hogan should not be allowed to die………….YET.
He should be kept alive (by drip feed if necessary) and forced to watch endless loop home movies of little Liam, (Clockwork Orange style),until he goes insane. Then, and only then, he should be slowly starved to death, whilst the video continues to play.
Max Lodge
Aug 31, 2006 at 4:50 am
Sorry, I forgot to start my last post with, That cowardly piece of shit.
Mark
Aug 31, 2006 at 5:11 am
Max Lodge - your comments are very naive and sick and leave me feeling quite cold. You clearly do not have a clue about what mental illness can do to people and their minds. Your thoughts have a strong thread of cruelty - go and get some help.
Jay Andrew Allen
Aug 31, 2006 at 6:35 am
Mark, I don’t care what “illness” he has. He still had control over his actions. He chose to kill his son, and he ought to be held accountable.
Patrick
Sep 2, 2006 at 3:39 pm
The comments of some on this site are unbelivable. You should be ashamed of yourselves. I hope next time you or someone you love is ill you get the required help. This is an example of someone that clearly needed help and didn’t get it. The bloke found one of his brothers dead, then was made to identify his other brother by having to watch CCTV footage of him taking his life by jumping off a bridge, and has himself had a history of depression. Obviously what he has done is the stuff of all our nightmares, and every time you see him on the papers & TV, his face alone tells that he is already in his own worst hell. I honestly don’t think that anything you could conjure up could be any worse. Vickie Willis, just because your particular set of circumstances thankfully didn’t have the same outcome as this, doesn’t give you the right to be jury, judge and executioner. I would of thought that someone who has had mental health problems yourself might be a little more sympathtic to the idea that when you are not in your right mind, decision making is a lottery at best. As a fellow Bristolian I would, however, like to thank you for pointing out to the rest of the world that ‘we are not all child killing assholes’. I myself was worried that we may all be tarred with that brush. After all, there are some very narrow-minded people out there….
Sara
Sep 4, 2006 at 8:01 pm
I’ll be honest I have at some point in my life felt like taking my own life. It’s been a long time and I have since realized how stupid I was back then, but NEVER and I do mean NEVER would I have killed my own children. I feel no sympothy for this man, he took the life of his child because he was to much of a coward to go by himself. Depression isn’t an exscuse for hurting people. You get help, you get counceling, what ever it takes, you never hurt your innocent babies. Shame on all the people in this world that hurt their children for any reason. Sorry but I think he deserves to die but I totally agree with Max Lodge, I think that doing that would at least be some form of punishment. Obivously this man isn’t one bit sorry for what he did other than that he didn’t die to. He deserves nothing good at all.
vickie willis
Sep 5, 2006 at 6:34 am
Patrick, i am totally unashamed, our comments come from NORMAL human beings who have children ourselves.I for one am a normal human being who loves my children and would cut my arms off if it helped them.. john hogan is no more than a child killer,, just the same as myra hindley and fred and rose west,,i dont see you screaming out sympathy to them,yet they were mentally impaired people, why the understanding for him, what about the rest of the family.
Jane
Sep 6, 2006 at 4:07 am
Don’t talk so much crap when you are not familiar with all of the circumstances. Mental illness is very difficult to understand and it affects every individual in a different way. You or I would not have done what John did while we were in a normal state of mind but you cannot predict your actions when your mind is mentally unbalanced.
vickie willis
Sep 6, 2006 at 4:45 am
you should read ALL the comments i.ve made, then perhaps you’d know that i do have a very good understanding of mental illness, its not talking crap just because i wont condone what he’s done, people that can justify this behaviour are going against even god’s so called beliefs “thow shalt not kill, even if my head is totally fucked up”not once have you mentioned this poor mother or the other child,perhaps you could stop forgiving and start thinking.WHAT HE DID WAS FUCKED UP,
vickie willis
Sep 6, 2006 at 5:01 am
John hogan failed again, what a loser,and they were supposedly watching him,, something doth tell me they weren’t doing thier job right, or they feel the same as MOST of us, but he should be left alive so he really does pay for what he did.
Patrick
Sep 6, 2006 at 2:06 pm
Vickie - Your comparison of a John Hogan to a bunch of serial killers confirms that you absolutley no grasp of the topic you are trying to discuss, therefore nullyfing any further points you make in this topic. No one is condoning what he’s done, just trying to make sense of what makes an apparently lovely bloke, who had 2 lovely childen, and a lovely wife, in a few seconds of madness, do what he did. I think what scares us all is the fact that he has been potrayed as a fantastic dad -something we all strive to be- and if he can commit such a horrific act, it makes us all wonder what we may be capable of, under strain and mental illness. Vickie, I guess what I’m trying to say is that your apparently simplistic view of the world - it’s either black or white, evil or good - just doesn’t apply in this case.
The Zero Boss
Sep 6, 2006 at 2:09 pm
Sorry, Patrick - no matter how you try and spin it, it was still a choice. He made a choice. A bad, tragic, irrevocable one.
And don’t spout to us as if we’ve never handled this in our own families - as if we’ve never had to deal with our own loved ones who’ve wrestled with madness and with taking their own lives, as if some of us have never wrestled with this *personally*.
This isn’t just a “tragedy”. It’s murder. It didn’t just “happen”. John Hogan MADE it happen.
kathleen
Nov 4, 2007 at 6:37 pm
vickie willis-
how dare you use a quote from the bible and then contradict in the very next sentence.
sure, god said, “thou shalt not kill,” but did he not also say “forgive and be forgiven for my will flows through thee who accept Reconciliation” of course what he did was obviously wrong but it is also obvious he feels remorse and a crazy man feeling is the least bit common. so although what he did was terrible forgive hima nd move on for he needs to be forgiven and prayed for so that he may also be forgiven by god.
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