2008 Woodie Awards
'Remorse' creates story
Michael Brown
Issue date: 3/19/08 Section: City Style
Ear-wrenching screams, the stench of stale cigarette smoke, the smell of urine and feces, offensive jokes and banter and talking one-on-one daily with serial killers would be enough to make the average person go insane.
However, this was the world that LBCC student and author Dr. Vonda Pelto had to endure for several years in the early 1980's as a psychologist to serial killers in the Los Angeles County Men's Central Jail.
Pelto was hired after Vernon Butts, one of the Freeway Killers, committed suicide while incarcerated, after he was poised to testify against William Bonin, also of the Killers, which embarrassed the district attorney's office.
Pelto's position with the Forensic Outpatient Office was created and her duties were to meet with serial killers and evaluate their mental stability to prevent them from harming themselves.
"It was a shock at first, but I was desperate for a job," Pelto said. "Here I was, this 5-foot-5 woman from Needles, Calif., walking into this place with people who have done some of the most heinous things you could think of."
She added, "I had just finished working with Orange County Mental Health for eight years and I was in limbo."
Pelto's experience in the prison along with her life are the subject of her book "Without Remorse," which was several years in the making and was released in August on Seven Locks Press in Santa Ana.
The book was written while she was enrolled in LBCC English teacher Frank Gaspar's novel writing class.
"I got a lot of encouragement from Frank over the years and many of my writing buddies at LBCC," Pelto said. "His critiques were helpful along with others because the book was different in its rough versions. It was too graphic, but I integrated more of my personal life into the book."
By her own admission, Pelto's book is not for the faint of heart. The coarse language and vivid descriptions of how the serial killers took pride in not only murder, but torture, are used.
However, this was the world that LBCC student and author Dr. Vonda Pelto had to endure for several years in the early 1980's as a psychologist to serial killers in the Los Angeles County Men's Central Jail.
Pelto was hired after Vernon Butts, one of the Freeway Killers, committed suicide while incarcerated, after he was poised to testify against William Bonin, also of the Killers, which embarrassed the district attorney's office.
Pelto's position with the Forensic Outpatient Office was created and her duties were to meet with serial killers and evaluate their mental stability to prevent them from harming themselves.
"It was a shock at first, but I was desperate for a job," Pelto said. "Here I was, this 5-foot-5 woman from Needles, Calif., walking into this place with people who have done some of the most heinous things you could think of."
She added, "I had just finished working with Orange County Mental Health for eight years and I was in limbo."
Pelto's experience in the prison along with her life are the subject of her book "Without Remorse," which was several years in the making and was released in August on Seven Locks Press in Santa Ana.
The book was written while she was enrolled in LBCC English teacher Frank Gaspar's novel writing class.
"I got a lot of encouragement from Frank over the years and many of my writing buddies at LBCC," Pelto said. "His critiques were helpful along with others because the book was different in its rough versions. It was too graphic, but I integrated more of my personal life into the book."
By her own admission, Pelto's book is not for the faint of heart. The coarse language and vivid descriptions of how the serial killers took pride in not only murder, but torture, are used.
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