A Capital Makeover

So here’s a question for you : Is this an article about a popular television show or the death penalty?

Ray Krone, wrongly convicted twice of killing a woman, is getting rid of a key piece of evidence used against him: his crooked smile.

The exonerated man, once dubbed the “Snaggletooth Killer” and sentenced to death, is getting a winning grin courtesy of the ABC reality show “Extreme Makeover.”

Krone will undergo extensive dental work, a hair transplant, an eye lift, nose job and liposuction on his cheeks. He will spend nearly two months recovering from surgery and meeting with a fitness trainer and nutritionist.

“It’s the embarrassment of being called the Snaggletooth Killer, living with that,” Krone, now lives in Dover Township, Pa., said in a telephone interview before leaving for California, where his cosmetic adventure began Thursday. “My teeth are what they really used to convict me.”
. . .
In 2002, new DNA testing proved Krone was innocent and he was freed. DNA from the crime scene was linked to a man already in prison for another crime.

Unfortunately, I think the best the “Snaggletooth Killer” can expect is to be a guest star on a very special episode of “Fixing Ugly People”. We can’t let people know that there’s any problems with the way capital punishment is administered in this country. He’s an exception that proves the rule, right?


posted by greg on November 19, 2004 @ 11:30 am

3 comments

  1. Um, is this article from The Onion?

    Comment by mona — November 20, 2004 @ 9:52 am

  2. I met Ray Krone in one of his first presentations regarding the horrendous state of our “justice” system.

    He was quite sincere and engaging. He clearly had been sent to hell, along with his family, several times by our elected and appointed representatives. (Amazing what we do to one of our own.)

    I don’t blame him for gaming the system now. He more than earned it. I hope he doesn’t feel that he is selling his soul to do so, however. Let’s see how badly they use him, or if he can turn it around and use them for not only personal gain, but to further expose his real story to a shallow public who would otherwise not care, except for the sick interest in major cosmetic surgical mutilation in the name of being judged favorably. How ironic, on so very many levels.

    Comment by wishful — November 23, 2004 @ 7:02 am

  3. I am his sister and this is not something ray went looking for. They called him. He has spent the years since he has been out of jail trying to make a difference in how people look at our justice system and the death penalty. This will only further his ability to do that work. He is devoted to spreading the word to wake people up. He is not someone who is concerned about his looks and would ever seek out plastic surgery. If you doubt me, just ask him, you will be impressed.

    Comment by amy — December 2, 2004 @ 7:43 am

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