No Publicity For Killers

The Emperor has noticed that murder-suicides have become commonplace now. Some of them are committed by sick people who want to hurt someone they know and then escape justice by killing themselves. Others seem to be motivated by a desire to achieve a lasting infamy through a horrific act of mass murder. Examples are the two teenage boys who killed their fellow students at Columbine and the college boy responsible for the massacre at Virginia Tech. It is hard to say how many attacks are meant to copy past massacres. The Columbine murderers referenced the Oklahoma City bombing in their own plans. The Virginia Tech murderer made reference to the Columbine murderers. Numerous individuals who were foiled in their plans to commit murder indicated they desired to achieve greater infamy than the Columbine murderers. It appears that some of these massacres are planned as a way to achieve fame for an individual who would otherwise pass through life unnoticed. The murderers seem to think that if they can't achieve their desires for fame through achievement, why not achieve infamy through murder. Of course, the more successful the attack the greater the media coverage which fuels even more horrific attacks. The media coverage seems to be counterproductive. As such, the Emperor has decreed that henceforth murderers will have their names stricken from the public record. No books, movies, newscasts, magazines, newspapers, songs, memorials, or even gravestones will be marked with their names. It will be as if they never existed. Thus, murder in the Emperor's realm will be rewarded with complete obscurity.