Amy Fisher - A Young Lover Gone Awry - Research Paper Example

Amy Fisher: A Young Lover Gone Awry Due Introduction There are many positive things that human beings have and continue to contribute to society, art, literature, innovation, charity, good will, and humanitarian compassion. However, human beings, also, contribute negative elements into society as well, hatred, violence, ignorance, self involvement, all of which, often, manifests in the form of serious criminal acts. Some people steal, deceive, and abuse, while others commit the ultimate crime of murder. Criminologists, sociologists, psychologists, and researchers of any number of disciplines have worked to explain why some people turn to crime, committing terrible acts, and others do not. The crimes become even more sensationalized not just by the press, but by society in general, when those involved are children. There are children who commit awful crimes, including murder. Throughout time there have been many murder cases where the perpetrators were not legally adults. Such case is that of Amy Fisher, also, often called, the “Long Island Lolita.” The Amy Fisher case has all the makings of a disturbing movie; misguided love, the perverse desires of an adult male, and an innocent wife caught in the middle that nearly paid the ultimate price. The story remains, today, one of the most shocking and one of the most heavily discussed, publicized, adulterous, murder attempt cases of the 20th century. Background On May 19, 1992, at, approximately 11:30 am, Mary Jo Buttafuoco walked across her house to answer her front door. When she opened the door a young, brown-haired girl, asked if Mary Jo was the wife of Joey Buttafuoco. She replied affirmatively and the girl told her that they needed to talk about her husband. The girl said that her name was Anne Marie and tells her that her 16-year-old sister was having an affair with Mary Jo’s husband (Montaldo, 2014). Mary Jo noticed a car with a young male in the driver’s seat. The girl soon produced a T-shirt bearing the logo of Joey Buttafuoco’s auto body shop “Complete Auto Body and Fender, Inc.” Mary Jo was angered by this girl’s accusation. She ended the conversation and insisted that this “Anne Marie” leave her property. The girl pulled a semiautomatic pistol and used it to bludgeon Mary Jo in the head. She then shot Mary Jo in the right temple. She dropped the gun and T-shirt and ran to the awaiting vehicle that Mary Jo had noticed. The male sent “Anne Marie” back to retrieve both items before fleeing the scene (Bell, 2014). Neighbors had heard the gunfire and rushed to the seriously injured Mary Jo Buttafuoco. Witnesses did not believe the woman would survive long enough for the ambulances to arrive. She was taken to the hospital where she required immediate, emergency surgery. Joey Buttafuoco remained silent about his affair and suspicions about what may have happened. However, as Mary Jo’s condition stabilized and she was able to speak to police Joey finally admitted he was having an affair with a young girl named Amy Fisher. Sure enough she was able to identify Fisher as the girl who came to her door (Montaldo, 2014). The events of this love triangle captivated news networks, periodicals, and television writers. However, the story did not begin on the morning of Mary Jo Buttafuoco’s shooting. It began many years ago, perhaps, long before Amy Fisher met Joey Buttafuoco. In order to understand the story better it is necessary to delve deeper in to the case story. Discussion Amy Fisher was born in August of 1974 and, according to her autobiography, her childhood was full instability and abuses. She claimed as a child she was sexually molested by a family member and at the age of 13 was sexually assaulted by a man hired to do work in her family’s home. She explained that it was these early abuses that inevitably lead her to a life of promiscuity, unwanted pregnancy, and abortion. Amy Fisher pulled into Joey Buttafuoco’s auto body shop in 1991 to have repairs made to her vehicle. However, Amy began spending more and more time at the shop while the repairs were being made. In July the repairs were completed they drove to her home. Here the 35-year-old married father of two began an affair with the 16-year-old high school student. This was just the first of many sexual encounters the two would have over the course of the proceeding months (Montaldo, 2014). However, the young girls tunnel vision, focused solely on Buttafuoco, cause her grades to drop, relationships to suffer, and her income to dissipate. In need of money it was Buttafuoco who suggested that Fisher should become an escort. Amy was a successful escort, but her jealousy over Buttafuoco’s marriage forced her to give Joey Buttafuoco an ultimatum; Amy or his wife? When he chose his wife Amy was crushed, but claims he made every effort to move on; she even began dating someone new, Paul Makely. She, however, rekindled her relationship with Buttafuoco a few months later. It was nearly a year exactly from the time that Fisher had met Buttafuoco she had decided the the greatest barrier to her happiness was Mary Jo Buttafuoco. To this day, Joey Buttafuoco swears that he never knew, suggested, or encouraged any kind harm against his wife. Fisher planned this action alone. Peter Guagenti, 21, provided Fisher with the gun in exchange for sexual favors. He, also, drove Fisher to and from the Buttafuocos home on the day of the shooting. He claimed he, also, did not know what Fisher’s intentions were that day (Bell, 2014). Of course, that plan, ultimately, went awry when Mary Jo Buttafuoco survived Fisher’s attempt on her life. When Fisher was arrested her initial story was that the gun was only meant to scare Buttafuoco, it went off by accident when she hit her with the gun. She, also, claimed that it was Joey Buttafuoco who gave her the gun, essentially, implicating him in the attempt on his wife’s life. She knew that Buttafuoco had turned against her. The charges against Amy Fisher included second degree attempted murder, assault, and criminal use of a firearm. To all of this Amy Fisher pled not guilty (Montaldo, 2014).However, Amy Fisher had very little credibility after evidence of was brought concerning her work as an escort, her search for the firearm, and her switching out of license plates on the “getaway car” proved that the young woman had dedicated a great deal of premeditation to this crime. Ultimately, Amy Fisher’s trial resulted in a plea bargain, which involved a 15 year sentence with parole eligibility in return for testimony against Joey Buttafuoco or his responsibility in the “Long Island Lolita” case and a guilty plea (Israel, 1996). In 1993, Buttafuoco served 4 months in prison for charges including statutory rape, sodomy, and endangering the welfare of a child (Montaldo, 2014). The Amy Fisher case became a morality play detailing the consequences of modern social issues like underage prostitution, children of abusive pasts, predatory old men, and psychological issues that lead to an attempted murder (Israel, 1996). There were many that felt that the punishment that Fisher received was, in fact, too light considering the premeditated nature of this crime. However, due to publicity and commentaries portraying Fisher as the innocent victim of Buttafuoco created a sense of compassion for Fisher that many do not feel she deserved. Other experts feel that the sentence she received may have been too harsh, at least, in comparison to similar crimes committed within the same time period. Few people heard of another case that occurred in Maryland involving a man who succeeded in killing his wife only received an 18th month sentence for his crime. So, they ask, can a teenager commit attempted murder and be given a sentence 4 times as long. These experts feel that all of the publicity, characterizations of Fisher, and the facts of the case were sensationalized more because of her gender than her crime. Female perpetrators of murder are rarer and spawn greater public curiosity, therefore public opinion ( Carll, 2003). Regardless of one’s opinion on Fisher’s age and gender, the true victim in this story was Mary Jo Buttafuoco, not Amy Fisher. One has to wonder if people’s perceptions and opinions might be different if Mary Jo Buttafuoco had not survived her attack and Amy Fisher had succeeded in murdering her. This is a strange phenomenon in society, in high profile cases, too often the majority of the attention and focus is one the perpetrators and not the victims. Ultimately, Amy Fisher only served 7 years of her 15 year sentence, she has since married and has had 2 children. She has written an autobiography and works as a journalist for al local Long Island newspaper. Joey Buttafuoco only served 4 months of his 18 month sentence (Lehner, 2005). In the end, Buttafuoco left his wife and intended to expand on his “celebrity” in Hollywood, at which he had little success (Brottman). Mary Jo Buttafuoco suffered permanent nerve damage, paralysis in her face, and loss of hearing on one side. She has worked to overcome the damage and trauma of that day in 1992. She penned her on autobiography detailing her experiences then and in the years following the case. Mary Jo Buttafuoco, of course, divorced Joey Buttafuoco and in 2012 she married Stu Tendle, a print shop owner in Queens, New York (Chen & Feiden , 2012). It has been, more than, 20 years since the “Long Island Lolita” case became the focus of news, magazines, and television networks. Three television movies were produced each, essentially, dedicated to the different perspectives of all involved. One favored Amy Fisher’s view, another from the point of view of Joey Buttafuoco, and the third was intended to be an unbiased interpretation. This is likely something that only aids in confusing the facts. Still today the elements of this case are still questioned. Many today still wonder if It Joey Buttafuoco manipulated an emotionally damaged and obsessive teenager into conveniently eliminating his wife or was Amy Fisher a far more clever and intelligent criminal who created a tale of harsh childhood and victimization as a ploy to gain sympathy and more lenient treatment when she faced the Courts ( Carll, 2003). So much of this case is based on versions or events as presented by Joey Buttafuoco and Amy Fisher, neither of which, can conceivably have a great deal of credibility on principle. For this reason many of the true events of this story may never be truly known. Conclusion In the end, the “Long Island Lolita” case remains one of the most famous, or infamous, high profile legal cases in U.S. History, like that of Lizzie Borden, The Menendez Brothers, and O.J. Simpson. We may never know all the details in the cases, despite the excessive commentaries and literature. All the same we may never understand why some people are driven to plot and plan to take another life so easily. Public curiosity and sensationalism of human criminal acts continues to try, with varying amounts of success. Ultimately, this was and will always be a high profile murder case to catch the public’s attention, however, what humanity must learn is to separate fact from fiction and remember that the most important person in any crime should be the victims, not the perpetrators. References Bell, R. (2014). Amy fisher. Retrieved from http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/young/amy_fisher/index.html Brottman, M. (n.d.). Apocalypse in suburbia. Iowa Journal of Cultural Studies, 1. Retrieved from http://www.uiowa.edu/~ijcs/suburbia/subfe1.htm Carll, E. K. (2003). Violence and women: News coverage of victims and perpetrators. News Coverage of Victims and Perpetrators. Retrieved from http://commons.esc.edu/gerardi/files/2010/11/Carll-article-Violence-and-women.pdf Chen , J., & Feiden , D. (2012, Feburary 26). Mary jo buttafuoco remarries in las vegas 20 years after being shot in face by ex-husband’s teenage lover . New York Daily News. Retrieved from http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/mary-jo-buttafuoco-remarries-20-years-shot-face-ex-hubby-teen-lover-article-1.1028801 Israel, B. (1996, July 21). Amy fishers time. New York Times Archives. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/21/magazine/amy-fisher-s-time.html .Lehner, M. (2005, February 3). long island lolita amy fisher has a girl. People, 1. Retrieved from http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,1024418,00.html Montaldo, C. (2014). Amy fisher, the long island lolita. Retrieved from http://crime.about.com/od/female_offenders/p/amyfisher.htm Read More