USA Today journalist Gregory Korte had a chilling experience recently. The reporter got an email with a database containing information on every presidential pardon, going back to George Washington. His source, Northern Illinois University political science professor P.S. Ruckman Jr., was someone with whom he had previously worked.
The reporter had written on President Obama’s use of clemency, and Ruckman provided him with some of his findings, which he had painstakingly collected during years of research at the National Archives. For this particular piece, Korte received the President Gerald Ford Foundation Award for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency.
Ruckman sent Korte other lists of presidential pardons when the latter was writing about President Trump’s pardon of former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The two stayed in touch and Korte hoped to one day have access to Ruckman’s full database. The professor informed him that he could as soon as he was done with his book on the topic.
Much to Korte’s surprise, he recently received the full database in an email from Ruckman. When he tried to contact him to thank him, he got no response. Korte shared on Twitter this week his sad discovery: shortly after Ruckman emailed him, he killed his two sons, and then himself, at their home.
According to this @rrstar story, police found his body — and that of his two boys, aged 12 and 14 — at his home on Saturday, three days after the emails. The boys hadn't been in school since Wednesday. https://t.co/soTP31zF0v
— Gregory Korte (@gregorykorte) March 7, 2018
I called the Winnebago County Sheriff, in case the emails help to establish his intent, or the timeline. Obviously, there are a lot of questions left unanswered, and the investigation continues.
— Gregory Korte (@gregorykorte) March 7, 2018
Korte wrote that he knew Ruckman was proud of his sons, having shared with him a YouTube video of his 7th grader playing the guitar.
He continued:
I also got the impression that his passion for the subject of pardons was rooted in fundamental Christian values of redemption and forgiveness. Tonight I'm struggling to reconcile those ideals with such an unpardonable act.
— Gregory Korte (@gregorykorte) March 7, 2018
I'm not sure what I'll do with the data. He did important work, which now seems tainted. I do pray that God has mercy on his soul, and especially on the souls of his innocent sons.
Thank you for listening.
— Gregory Korte (@gregorykorte) March 7, 2018
The family lived in Cherry Valley, Ill., and the boys hadn’t been to school in two days when their bodies and that of their father were discovered.
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