Notorious Mass Murderer George Banks Dies in Pennsylvania Prison

George Banks, a notorious mass murderer, died in prison at the age of 83 from kidney cancer. In 1982, Banks, a former prison guard and Army veteran, went on a racially motivated shooting spree in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, killing 13 people, including five of his own children aged between one and six, and several mothers of his children. He claimed his actions were driven by fears of racism and intended to spare his mixed-race children from the pain of growing up in a racist society. After drinking and taking prescription drugs, Banks armed himself with an AR-15 rifle and carried out the killings across multiple locations, including his home and a trailer park, before surrendering after a four-hour standoff. He was convicted of multiple counts of murder and spent 43 years in prison, where he died. Throughout his trial and incarceration, Banks's defense argued that he was mentally incompetent, which spared him the death penalty.