George Banks Mass Murder Case: The Wilkes-Barre 1982 Murder and the Fractured Path to Justice

By John A. Esquivel

George Banks Mass Murder Case: The Wilkes-Barre 1982 Murder and the Fractured Path to Justice

In the early hours of September 25, 1982, George Emil Banks, a former prison guard haunted by delusions of racial persecution, armed himself with an AR-15 and unleashed a torrent of violence across Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. What began as a domestic nightmare in his Schoolhouse Lane home-where he slaughtered three girlfriends and five of his own young children-spiraled into a deadly pursuit through the streets and into Heather Highlands Trailer Park, claiming 13 lives in total, including innocent bystanders and relatives. This researched account traces Banks's path from a troubled biracial childhood marked by racism and early crime, through his escalating mental unraveling, to the chaotic trial where he defied counsel and confronted the jury with gruesome evidence. Convicted on 12 counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to death, Banks evaded execution through repeated competency rulings that deemed him psychotic and irrational, ultimately dying of natural causes in prison after 43 years behind bars. The book examines one of America's deadliest mass shootings, probing the role of mental illness, racial trauma, and a justice system struggling with the limits of capital punishment.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0FZQGYWNG
• ISBN13: 9798272970817
• Release Date: November 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 124 Pages
• Weight: 0.39 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"