I have been reading a few articles this week regarding the fate of some infamous houses where gruesome crimes took place. In light of the recent arrests of Ariel Castro and his brothers in Cleveland I discovered several other high profile crime houses and school buildings have been demolished:
Another house in Cleveland where serial killer Anthony Sowell killed 11 women over a period of several years was demolished in 2011.
30 years ago in Chicago the house where John Wayne Gacy killed at least 33 young men was demolished.
Recently, one of the buildings at Sandy Hook Elementary had passed a vote to be demolished and rebuilt.
Columbine High School replaced the library where most of the school shooting murders occurred.
To me this seems like an opportunity to help the victims of these crimes. Why not render these houses unlivable (which most are after evidence is removed) and sell them to an investor who would be forced to rehab the property in order to sell it? Use the proceeds to support the victims.
I know there will always be a good case for both arguments and I suppose there are a lot of peripheral factors to consider (who would want to live there?). But if these homes had to be rehabbed, had equity and the victims could benefit from it, why not give it a try?
Of course, the school shootings would not apply to this issue. But maybe there is another solution for schools to help victims benefit as well.
Your thoughts?
