John Odgren, currently on trial for allegedly murdering a fellow student at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, was known for his fascination with violence. He fashioned himself as “Jack,” a character from his favorite Stephen King novel. Odgren loved to play violent video games and had a keen interest in knives.
Odgren’s fascination went further than just a hobby. His obsession with all things violent was so intense that he attended a forensic-themed summer program and took a high school course in forensics, both in the months just prior to the homicide with which he is charged. Not only did the class satisfy part of his academic requirements, but it surely satisfied his passion for the dark side of the human condition. This is not to suggest that the young defendant was inspired to take his lessons much too far--only that C.S.I.-type instruction may have reinforced his existing fascination with violence.
John Odgren in 2007 (File Photo)
Lincoln-Sudbury High is but one of the countless schools around the country that have adopted academic curricula focused on the interplay between science and the law. In recent years, high schools and even middle schools have exploited their students’ morbid fascination as a strategy for spoon feeding them science--to make chemistry, biology and other fields more palatable.
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