<!-- Unsourced image removed: -->Allen Lee Jackson (February 24, 1957 - March 8, 2006, born Allen Lee Riviera) was a convicted murderer who killed eight people and wounded three at an American Civil War museum in Vicksburg.

Life

Jackson was born on February 24, 1957, to Mikhail al-Zari and Juliet Riviera. His father, a Russian World War II veteran, was an abusive alcoholic. In 1958, his father, who was also anti-Semitic, was sentenced to five years in prison after threatening to kill a man because he was Jewish. He served three years of his sentence. Jackson himself committed anti-Semitic hate crimes during his childhood.

In 1967, his father shot his wife to death while she was asleep and then committed suicide. Jackson was then adopted Billy Joe Jackson and Carly Jackson. Allen Jackson was unstable during his teenage years, and allegedly raped a seven-year-old girl in 1975. He then bought his own house in 1987. There he started building up an extensive collection of pets, including seven Siamese cats, six parrots, 20 goldfish, and two horses, which he kept, against Alabama law, in his backyard. His neighbors described him as mentally unstable.

The Vicksburg massacre

On the morning of August 14, 2003, Jackson packed up a 12-gauge shotgun, a chainsaw, and 20 lengths of rope into a large briefcase. It was later discovered that he had killed all of his pets with shotgun blasts. The kittens and parrots were found in his attic, while the goldfish were removed from their fishtanks and were stomped to death on a bed of sharp rocks in his garden. Police later found the bodies of the two horses, which were horribly mutilated and covered in semen. He then walked to a Civil War museum in Vicksburg with his briefcase, leaving behind a note that said:

:Dear Earth,
:I'm going to the museum with my shotgun. I want to kill people. I've killed all my pets this morning and now I can't stop. I want people to know who I am. I want to kill enough people to get into the newspaper. I'm not afraid to die. I'll kill myself and go to Heaven and meet John Lennon and William Shakespeare. Goodbye to all. Thanks for nothing.

Jackson walked into the main lobby and spotted 14-year-old Seth Barrow. Jackson told Barrow that he was not allowed to be near the current exhibit and told him to move over to a nearby empty corridor. As Barrow walked down the corridor, Jackson hit him in the back of the head with his shotgun and dragged him to a nearby restroom. He tied him up and told him he would shoot anyone who came in the bathroom and tie them up as well. Jackson then shot and killed five-year-old Johnny Hawkins and three-year-old Jethro Hawkins, Jr., and tied their corpses to the wall, alongside Barrow. Ten minutes later, he raped and killed 14-year-old Allison Collins and tied her corpse to the wall, alongside the Hawkins boys. He then killed Barrow as well. Jackson locked and barricaded the door to the restroom door and got the chainsaw out of his briefcase. He cut up each corpse into 10 equal sections and stuck them in his pockets and briefcase. He then unlocked the door and ran out to the Civil War reenactment that was taking place outside.

Jackson sat quietly and watched the reenactment of the Battle of Vicksburg take place, along with other members of the crowd. After 20 minutes, he started shooting at members of the Union side with his shotgun as well as the audience. He killed four people and wounded three, then sprinted off to his car with his briefcase.

Jackson drove to the Mississippi River and, upon arrival, ate one piece each of the four victims, and dumped the other 36 pieces into the river. He then sat quietly by the river before a chasing police car caught up with him and arrested him without resistance.

Victims

KILLED<!-- Unsourced image removed: -->

Seth Barrow, 14

Johnny Hawkins, 5

Jethro Hawkins, 3

Allison Collins, 14

Raleigh McDonald, 37

Chris Helmsley, 19

Jimmy Childress, 67

Charlene Williams, 46

WOUNDED

Thomas Hennessy, 16

Marina Allaway, 17

Dallas Merlin, 83

Trial

Jackson was arrested and was charged with eight counts of first-degree murder, three counts of attempted murder, one count of rape, one count of bestiality, and three counts of animal cruelty. Jackson, during his 2004 trial, pleaded guilty to all of the counts except the first-degree murder charges. He was later convicted on those charges as well and was sentenced to death.

Jackson was constantly harassed by fellow Death Row inmates. On March 8, 2006, he was gang-raped by six fellow inmates while taking a shower. His head was smashed onto the hard marble floor until parts of his brain fell out. His body was discovered 20 minutes later by a janitor.