These Were Serial Killer Carl Panzram's Chilling Last Words

Think "serial killer" and names like Bundy, Dahmer, or Gacy are probably who come to mind. The name Carl Panzram is not as widely known but perhaps even more horrifying than the ones mentioned above. 

Born in 1891, Panzram confessed to 21 murders and likely countless acts of rape before his death (via All That's Interesting). In his own words, he was not sorry for any of it (per Serial Killer Shop). Panzram only lived to be 39, but that was enough time for him to leave his gruesome mark on the world. His life of crime began as a child (at age 11 or 12) with theft. This landed him in a reform school where he was beaten, tortured, and assaulted.

When Panzram left the school a few years later, he decided that the criminal life was for him. His violence only escalated from there and what followed were years of brutal crimes. Thus, Panzram was in and out of jail for his entire life and a vicious cycle would occur. Guards would beat and punish Panzram and he, in turn, would do the same (and worse) to inmates. In 1917, he escaped Oregon State Penitentiary and by 1920 he'd bought a yacht.

Using the yacht, Panzram traveled internationally and went on a murder spree. According to Murderpedia, he allegedly assaulted and killed a young boy in Africa. In addition, he was said to have hired guides to take him on a crocodile expedition. Instead, he killed them and fed them to the crocodiles. He eventually returned to America where he continued to kill and assault men.

In 1928, Panzram was incarcerated for the final time (via Serial Killer Shop). He confessed to the killing of two boys and was sentenced to 25 years to life at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary. 

According to All That's Interesting, It's here that Panzram killed the laundry foreman and was sentenced to death. On September 5, 1930, he was hanged. Panzram's final words to the executioner were "Yes, hurry it up, you Hoosier bastard! I could kill a dozen men while you're fooling around!".

Miraculously, Panzram made a friend before his death, prison guard Henry Lesser who took pity on him (per San Diego State University). Lesser encouraged him to write his autobiography, which he did. It's through this that most of Panzram's atrocious crimes came to light. In his writing, Panzram describes having no conscience and having no belief in God or the devil. Likewise, he mentions that he hates the human race, including himself.

After his death, Lesser dedicated his life to prison reform as well as publishing Panzram's autobiography. He used Panzram's story as an example of the system's failure. Part of his manuscript was published in the 1970 book "Killer: A Journal of Murder".