Talk:William Scott Day

Deceased

According to the Tennessee Department of Correction William Scott Day has died in prison but it does not specify the date of death. Inexpiable (talk) 19:48, 19 January 2022 (UTC)

Requested move 20 January 2022

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

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William Scott Day (serial killer) → William Scott Day (spree killer) – The body of the text and references would make him a spree killer, not a serial killer. The span of his murders were committed during a 39-day robbery spree from December 9, 1986 to January 12, 1987. There is a distinction between spree killers/rampage killers and serial killers. As such I think the article should be renamed to William Scott Day (spree killer). ExRat (talk) 04:46, 20 January 2022 (UTC)

• Weak support. The two terms are often used interchangeably, and it's a matter of opinion whether a 39-day period constitutes a "spree", or whether there was enough of a cooling-off period between killings for him to be a serial killer. But in my opinion, this is closer to a spree killer. Rreagan007 (talk) 17:01, 20 January 2022 (UTC)

@Rreagan007: He actually fits the serial killer page more closely than spree killer: Per serial killer page: "a person who murders three or more people", "with the murders taking place over more than a month". Both criteria are met. Per spree killer page: "two or more murders or homicides in a short time", "with almost no time break between murders". Clearly was a big enough time break between murders. Spree killing is more within a week than a month. Inexpiable (talk) 22:23, 20 January 2022 (UTC)

• Support. Spree killer is a fitter term for William Scott. He didnt kill enough people to become a serial killer. HelpingWorld (talk) 17:16, 20 January 2022 (UTC)

He killed at least 6 people, and according to our Serial killer article, you only have to kill 3 people to be a serial killer. Rreagan007 (talk) 18:32, 20 January 2022 (UTC)

• Oppose Per the term from the serial killer Wikipedia page: "a person who murders three or more people", "with the murders taking place over more than a month". Both criteria are met. Inexpiable (talk) 22:19, 20 January 2022 (UTC)

Would you consider Charles Starkweather a serial killer or a spree killer? Starkweather is most often regarded as a spree killer. He murdered 11 people from December 1, 1957 to January 29, 1958 – some 60 days. Killing six people during the course of robberies over a 39-day period is a spree, "with almost no time break between murders." A serial killer murders "usually in service of abnormal psychological gratification, with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them". Escaping from prison and then going on a little-more-than-a-month robbery spree and committing murders during the course of it, is a spree killer. ExRat (talk) 23:07, 20 January 2022 (UTC)

Yeah but ten of them occurred within an eight day period so he fits the spree killer term more closely. Not the case with Day. Inexpiable (talk) 08:37, 21 January 2022 (UTC)

• Support William Scott Day (murderer). By whatever definition, this one is accurate. -- Necrothesp (talk) 15:52, 26 January 2022 (UTC)
• Comment (PLEASE READ BEFORE CLOSING) Seen as it will likely get changed. What about just simply changing the name to: William Scott Day? The current page title simply redirects to a stub article with one sentence and two sources called William S. Day about a politician who died in 1984. @Necrothesp:, @Rreagan007:, @ExRat:, @HelpingWorld:. Inexpiable (talk) 08:22, 27 January 2022 (UTC)

Comment @Inexpiable: I made the suggestion for the possible article title change, but I didn't mean for anything to get heated. You've done really great work on the list of serial killers and serial killer articles in general. While I disagree with the assessment that William Scott Day is a serial killer -- I firmly believe the more apt description is spree killer -- I am not too invested. It was more of a discussion and suggestion. I think @Necrothesp:'s suggestion is a really great compromise. I support the article being renamed William Scott Day (murderer), and think the other article should be changed to William Scott Day (politician). ExRat (talk) 08:31, 27 January 2022 (UTC)

I would support William S. Day (politician). That does seem to be his commoner name. -- Necrothesp (talk) 11:09, 27 January 2022 (UTC)

• Comment Sorry everyone. I got a bit muddled. Sometimes I wake up and my English is a bit foggy. I think @Inexpiable: is correct. I support the move to just William Scott Day. The other, politician guy's article is titled William S. Day and William Scott Day just redirects to it. So, I think the spree killer/serial killer article should just be William Scott Day and the politician's article should be as it is – William S. Day – and the redirect removed. A hatnote can be placed at the top of both articles ("for the American murderer William Scott Day, see..." and "for the American politician William S. Day, see...") ExRat (talk) 13:57, 27 January 2022 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.