# Dumbass who sent poisoned letters to the President and Sen. Wicker **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 18, 2013, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-who-sent-poisoned-letters-to-the-president-and-sen-wicker/655987 "2013-04-18T00:20:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-who-sent-poisoned-letters-to-the-president-and-sen-wicker/655987/21 "2013-04-18T14:41:28Z")
You can synthesize it from castor beans using only common household items. Not that I’ve tried, but I read extensively about it during the anthrax mail scare. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-who-sent-poisoned-letters-to-the-president-and-sen-wicker/655987/22 "2013-04-18T15:11:38Z")
Of course, if you screw up your home-based ricin processing you kill _yourself_. This probably helps to keep the number of amateur ricin makers low. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-who-sent-poisoned-letters-to-the-president-and-sen-wicker/655987/23 "2013-04-18T15:16:29Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Of course, if you screw up your home-based ricin processing you kill _yourself_. This probably helps to keep the number of amateur ricin makers low. Well, at least _repeat_ amateur ricin makers. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-who-sent-poisoned-letters-to-the-president-and-sen-wicker/655987/24 "2013-04-18T15:21:55Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > A single plant can yield enough ricin to kill thousands of people. AIUI, there’s ricin and there’s ricin. It’s lethal if it’s weaponized. But a first batch, like you could make out of a backyard bean crop, is apparently low-grade stuff, and that’s what they found on the letters. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-who-sent-poisoned-letters-to-the-president-and-sen-wicker/655987/25 "2013-04-18T15:52:21Z")
If you want to stretch the amount you produce and make it a little more flavorful, you could make ricin-a-roni. ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-who-sent-poisoned-letters-to-the-president-and-sen-wicker/655987/26 "2013-04-18T16:02:00Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > If you want to stretch the amount you produce and make it a little more flavorful, you could make ricin-a-roni. That’s stuff’s no good for you. What you need is some good ol’ ricin beans. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-who-sent-poisoned-letters-to-the-president-and-sen-wicker/655987/27 "2013-04-18T16:09:02Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > If you want to stretch the amount you produce and make it a little more flavorful, you could make ricin-a-roni. I don’t know why they call it ricin-helper. It does just fine by itself, huh? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-who-sent-poisoned-letters-to-the-president-and-sen-wicker/655987/28 "2013-04-18T17:56:10Z")
One more of those and I’m gonna send a letter to this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-who-sent-poisoned-letters-to-the-president-and-sen-wicker/655987/29 "2013-04-18T19:00:36Z")
> [@drew870mitchell](#): > > …but I wouldn’t have written the OP about an obvious mental case. Pondering the logic of why a nutter should get a pass. Sure, it’s not cool to mock the mentally ill, but I’d say in general the less capable someone is of at least pretending to play in the same reality as everyone else, the greater the duty of the general public to help him understand the error of his ways. Berating non-Dopers in the BBQ Pit is functionally useless, hell it barely has any effect on actual Dopers. But that attitude, the one that says in effect, “Aw, he’s just nuts, leave him alone–you can’t hold him to the same standard as everyone else,” ignores the potential harm he can get up to while you just leave him alone, and it robs him of the opportunity to realize he needs treatment. I wish someone would have gotten in _my_ face 30 or so years ago and _forced_ me into treatment. Would have vastly improved the lives of at least a dozen people including myself, and spared a bunch of people here a smidgen of bullshit as well. Fuckin-a, dude. Call crazy people out on their crazy! After they get over hating you for it they might just be grateful. That said, mental healthcare in the US sucks if you haven’t got personal support and a lot of money–probably both of which are in short supply for Mr. Curtis. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-who-sent-poisoned-letters-to-the-president-and-sen-wicker/655987/30 "2013-04-20T01:12:27Z")
Just a Nitpick. The gentleman was Bipolar not Schizophrenic. Not really a big deal, but a correction still none the less to fight some ignorance. > [@](#): > > “He is bipolar, and the only thing I can say is he wasn’t on his medicine,” his ex-wife, Laura Curtis, told The Associated Press. > > Jim Waide, an attorney for the Curtis family, said Paul Kevin Curtis was prescribed medication three years ago. “When he is on his medication, he is terrific, he’s nice, he’s functional,” Waide said. “When he’s off his medication, that’s when there’s a problem.” [Cite](http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/national/paul-kevin-curtis-suspected-ricin-laced-letter-sender-struggles-with-mental-illness-family-says) [Cite2](http://www.clarionledger.com/viewart/20130419/NEWS/304190046/Family-says-accused-ricin-mailer-mentally-ill) ---
**Author:** ![drew870mitchell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drew870mitchell/32/3946_2.png) [@drew870mitchell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drew870mitchell)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-who-sent-poisoned-letters-to-the-president-and-sen-wicker/655987/31 "2013-05-01T18:47:42Z")
Good news, everybody! Paul Kevin Curtis was being set up by a karate instructor who hated him. This story has moved from “viscerally offensive” to “just plain sad” to “bizzare and kinda funny.” > **[Paul Kevin Curtis and J. Everett Dutschke: Epic Feud and Ricin Letters](https://www.thedailybeast.com/paul-kevin-curtis-and-j-everett-dutschke-epic-feud-and-ricin-letters)** > > Winston Ross travels to Tupelo, Mississippi, to find what might have driven the latest suspect in the letters. > **[Ricin letters: What's the evidence against new suspect, per the FBI affidavit?](https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2013/0501/Ricin-letters-What-s-the-evidence-against-new-suspect-per-the-FBI-affidavit)** > > James Everett Dutschke, accused of mailing three letters containing ricin, was arrested Saturday at his home. He is being held without bond until a preliminary hearing Thursday. I wonder what the scores of investigators and reporters are feeling like as their investigation devolves into untangling the web of nonsense between these guys. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-who-sent-poisoned-letters-to-the-president-and-sen-wicker/655987/32 "2013-05-01T19:00:49Z")
I love that the guy bought castor beans off of eBay and paid with Paypal. Not the sharpest tool in the shed. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-who-sent-poisoned-letters-to-the-president-and-sen-wicker/655987/33 "2013-05-02T11:14:29Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > I love that the guy bought castor beans off of eBay and paid with Paypal. Not the sharpest tool in the shed. I “know” a guy who sells cannabis in small aliquots. He has had people attempt payment with plastic.☹ ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-who-sent-poisoned-letters-to-the-president-and-sen-wicker/655987/34 "2013-05-02T12:15:24Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > I love that the guy bought castor beans off of eBay and paid with Paypal. Not the sharpest tool in the shed. B..but…but… MENSA! ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-who-sent-poisoned-letters-to-the-president-and-sen-wicker/655987/35 "2013-05-02T19:26:58Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > B..but…but… MENSA! Shh! Don’t say anything about his MENSA cred, or there may be a letter sent with your name on it! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-who-sent-poisoned-letters-to-the-president-and-sen-wicker/655987/36 "2013-05-14T19:03:00Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Return to sender. > [@PunditLisa](#): > > Don’t be cruel. > [@chappachula](#): > > …We can assume that after he gets locked up, the other inmates will treat him like a hound dog, step on his blue sude shoes, and not let him dance to the jailhouse rock… That’s all right. By the blue moon of Kentucky, I’m sure there’ll be some good rocking tonight on a mystery train whether or not you love him tender, because he’s all shook up. He’s clearly playing for keeps with the President and Sen. Wicker. I beg of you, doncha’ think it’s time for him to get a good luck charm? ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-who-sent-poisoned-letters-to-the-president-and-sen-wicker/655987/37 "2013-05-14T21:27:19Z")
I wonder if they found him in the ghetto when they went to arrest him. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-who-sent-poisoned-letters-to-the-president-and-sen-wicker/655987/38 "2013-05-15T01:12:35Z")
You know, since the Elvis guy has been exonerated, perhaps he should be dropped from the discussion. IOW, a little less conversation, please. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-who-sent-poisoned-letters-to-the-president-and-sen-wicker/655987/39 "2013-05-15T02:23:46Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > You know, since the Elvis guy has been exonerated, perhaps he should be dropped from the discussion. > > IOW, a little less conversation, please. The guy who is the current suspect is, however, and I swear I’m not making this up, a [Wayne Newton impersonator](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/foreget-elvis-wayne-newton-impersonator-eyed-authorities-mailing-ricin-letter-tainted-poison-president-obama-article-1.1330821?localLinksEnabled=false). I’d make some clever Wayne Newton related pun, but that would involve knowing Wayne Newton songs, and I’m not about to admit to that. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-who-sent-poisoned-letters-to-the-president-and-sen-wicker/655987/40 "2013-05-15T02:28:01Z")
> [@waterj2](#): > > The guy who is the current suspect is, however, and I swear I’m not making this up, a [Wayne Newton impersonator](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/foreget-elvis-wayne-newton-impersonator-eyed-authorities-mailing-ricin-letter-tainted-poison-president-obama-article-1.1330821?localLinksEnabled=false). I’d make some clever Wayne Newton related pun, but that would involve knowing Wayne Newton songs, and I’m not about to admit to that. I feel a bad-taste Band Name coming on . . . **Wayne Newton’s Ricin!** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-who-sent-poisoned-letters-to-the-president-and-sen-wicker/655987.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbass-who-sent-poisoned-letters-to-the-president-and-sen-wicker/655987.md?page=3)