The Jonestown Massacre: Murder or Suicide?

By: Sierra D. Wale

Founded in 1955 by Jim Jones, The Peoples Temple was a racially integrated church that focused on helping people in need. The church earned a reputation for aiding the cities' poorest citizens, especially racial minorities, drug addicts, and the homeless.

Jones told his congregations that only socialism brought perfect freedom, justice and equality, perfect love in all its beauty and holiness.

The increasing media scrutiny based upon allegations by former members placed further pressure on Jones in 1977. He used this as an excuse for his congregation to move to Guyana, South America.

Jim Jones and The Peoples Temple:

Jonestown:Jim Jones had a vision of a socialist

Community, one in which everyone lived together in harmony,

In 1977, Jones and his followers relocated to Jonestown, located in the remote jungles of

Guyana, South America. The Peoples Temple had purchased and began to develop the lad

three years earlier.

The move allowed Jones to have complete control over his followers.

Life in Jonestown:

Congressman Leo Ryan’s Visit to Jonestown:

Soon reports began to surface regarding the Jonestown settlement. There were

accusations of beatings, kidnapping, sexual abuse, and mysterious deaths leaked to the

media.

By the end of the morning, at least sixteen residents assembled to leave with Ryan's

group. As Ryan prepared to leave Jonestown, he was suddenly attacked by a man with a

knife. The scuffle was quickly broken up, and Ryan uninjured.

The information caught the eye of Congressman Leo Ryan. He decided to travel to Guyana to explore the condition himself. In

the fall of 1978, the Congressman flew to Georgetown, Guyana; accompanied by a

contingent of 'Concerned Relatives' and a few journalist. The point of the trip was to verify

whether American citizens were being harmed or detained against their will at The Peoples Temple agricultural settlement in

Jonestown.

On November 17th, 1978, Congressman Leo Ryan, along with a contingent of ‘Concerned Relatives’ and

members of the press arrived in Jonestown.

The next day, even though Ryan had spoken favorably about several aspects of the

settlement. However, that evening someone secretly passed a note with the names of the

people who wanted to leave to one of the cameraman in Ryan's group.

The visit was unwelcome and crammed with anxiety, but after

extensive negotiations on November 17th with Jonestown leadership; Congressman Ryan and his group were permitted to enter the Jonestown compound.

Port Kaituma Airstrip Shootings:

Congressman Ryan's group was driven to the Georgetown airstrip, where two small places waited. As the group boarded the aircrafts, they were ambushed by a small group of men from Jonestown who had followed the group and began shooting at the group. The Congressman, three journalist, and one temple member who had wanted to leave Jonestown were killed; more than a dozen others were severely wounded.

The Jonestown Massacre:

Back at Jonestown, Jones began to formulate his version of the final solution. He told the residents to assemble in the central pavilion.

Where he proclaimed that the end had come for the people of

Jonestown.

A large vat of purple Flavor Aid, mixed with potassium cyanide, a variety of sedatives, and

tranquilizers was brought into the pavilion.

He said that the outside world had forced them into this extreme situation, and that 'revolutionary suicide'

was their only option.

Jones told the residents of Jonestown that Ryan's

murder would make it impossible for their

settlement to continue.

The Discovery:

Guyanese defense forces arrived at the airstrip the next morning. After securing the runway, the troops turned towards Jonestown. They reached the settlement mid-morning, and were horrifi ed to fi nd a fi eld of cadavers.

“Revolutionary Suicide???”

Contrary to the media reports said at the time, very few actually died from self administered,

cyanide laced Favor-Aid.

The assessment conducted by the Guyanese Medical Examiner, Dr. Leslie Mootoo, revealed

that more then 700 of the victims were murdered. Mootoo claimed that he examined the bodies of 137 of the victims. All of which

had be injected with cyanide in areas of there bodies unreachable by their own hands; such

as between their shoulder blade.

The first to ingest the cyanide were the infants and children. Two hundred and seventy six

children do not calmly kill themselves. During that same time the senior citizens and the

handicapped were injected with poison as they slept or while they were in the dormitories. It is likely that they would have attempted to resist or argue against suicide. Since the children,

seniors, and handicapped made up around two thirds of the community. That leaves the one

third of able bodied adults; either deciding to kill themselves, or left to be murdered. Many were held at gunpoint as Jones forced them to drink

the cyanide laced Favor Aid.

“Revolutionary Suicide???”

Arrangement of the Bodies:

Death by cyanide poison is an agonizing and grotesque situation. The central nervous system signals become scrambled, causing both voluntary and involuntary muscular system to spasm violently. twisted, contorted limbs and a terrible grimace know as cyanide rictus are typical of this cause of death, However, the photographs of the victims do not show any signs of these symptoms . The victims were laid out in neat rows, and some of the close range photos reveal drag marks on the ground, indicating that the corpses were arranged in way after their death.

Eye Witness Account:

Dr. Michael Stone’s interview with Tim Carter, one of nine survivors of The Jonestown Massacre.

Click here to view

WORKS CITIED:   Krause, Charles A. "30 Years Later, Memories of Jonestown Evoke Guilt, Anger and Mistrust." Washington Post (2008): n. 

pag. Web. 19 Nov 2008. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/18/AR2008111803694_pf.html>.

    Lindholm, Charles. Charisma. Blackwell Publishers , 1993. 153-173. Print.     McCormick Maaga, Mary. Hearing the Voices of Jonestown. Syracurse, NY: Syracuse Universty Press, 1998. 147-167. 

Print.     McCormick Maaga, Mary. "Suicide Tape Transcript." 1998. Web. 22 Nov 2009. 

<Http://employees.oneonta.edu/downinll/mass_suicide.htm>.     Moore, Rebecca. A Sympathetic History of Jonestown. V. 14. New York, New York: The Edwin Mellen Press, 1985. 307-

315. Print.    Sachs, Andrea. "Q&A: A Jonestown Survivor Remembers." Time (2008): n. pag. Web. 18 Nov 2008. 

<http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1859903,00.html#>.    Wessinger, Catherine. HOW THE MILLENNIUM COMES VIOLENTLY: FROM JONESTOWN TO HEAVEN'S GATE. New 

York, NY: Seven Bridges Press, 2000. 31-51. Print.