Does The Son of Sam Law Only Mean Profit From Crime Or Any Profit Period?
Basicallly, the “son of sam” laws are intended to prevent a convicted criminal from profiting from their crimes. Generally, it varies from state state as to how it’s implemented (some states seize proceeds, others allow victims to obtain a lien on profits). The basic principle in many is that they prohibit the criminal from using his notoriety to profit. In other words, yes, book deals and movie deals are obviously barred. But with artwork and poetry, it gets a little more complicated. In most jurisdictions possessing a “son of sam” law, as long as the artwork or poetry doesn’t deal with the crime and as long as the art or other material isn’t marketed through the notoriety gained by the crime (ie promoting a painting as painted by the zodiac killer), then they’d be alright. In many cases, it means authoring works or paintings anonymously or through an unpublicized pseudonym.
