--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I should never have been convicted of…" description: "\"I should never have been convicted of anything more serious than running a cemetery without a license.\" — John Wayne Gacy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/john-wayne-gacy-28779_cemetery_i-should-never-have-been-convicted-of-an_1002693.jpg" --- # I should never have been convicted of anything more… ![“I should never have been convicted of anything more serious than running a cemetery without a license.” quote by John Wayne Gacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/john-wayne-gacy-28779_cemetery_i-should-never-have-been-convicted-of-an_1002693.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/john-wayne-gacy-28779_cemetery_i-should-never-have-been-convicted-of-an_1002693.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/john-wayne-gacy-28779_cemetery_i-should-never-have-been-convicted-of-an_1002693.jpg) > “I should never have been convicted of anything more serious than running a cemetery without a license.” [John Wayne Gacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne-gacy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He reflects on his crimes, minimizing their severity compared to imagined worse offenses. **In simple terms:** He downplays his wrongdoing. Key Takeaway Recognize the gravity of all harmful actions. Themes crime self‑deception morality Mood guilty defensive Type confessional psychological When to use this quote - courtroom - media interviews - psychological analysis Key Concepts psychopathy denial self‑justification Questions to Reflect On - How does minimizing crime affect accountability? - What drives people to compare their sins to imagined worse deeds? A Different Perspective He may be rationalizing to avoid guilt. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cemetery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cemetery/) [Cemetery License](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cemetery-license-2125046/) [Convicted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convicted/) [Convicted Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convicted-running-2125048/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Running Cemetery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running-cemetery-2125047/) [Serious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serious/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) ## Related quotes > [Being president is like running a cemetery: you've got a lot of people under you and nobody's listening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/being-president-is-like-running-a-cemetery-you-ve-got-a-lot-of-people/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [In our criminal justice system, we say it's better for 10 guilty people to go free than for even one innocent person to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/in-our-criminal-justice-system-we-say-it-s-better-for-10-guilty/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [The drunkard is convicted by his praises of wine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-drunkard-is-convicted-by-his-praises-of-wine/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“The witch-hunt narrative is a really popular story that goes like this: Lots of people were falsely convicted of child sexual abuse in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-cheit/the-witch-hunt-narrative-is-a-really-popular-story-that-goes-like/) [Ross Cheit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-cheit/) > [I've never been disbarred, committed or convicted of moral turpitude, and the only time I was arrested, it was a case of mistaken identity...I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-levine/i-ve-never-been-disbarred-committed-or-convicted-of-moral-turpitude/) [Paul Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-levine/) > [The person who has been convicted has served their time. Why would we continue to punish and exclude them from housing and jobs? Those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-burton/the-person-who-has-been-convicted-has-served-their-time-why-would-we/) [Susan Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-burton/) > [“Two other highly vocal FMSF Advisory Board members are Dr Elizabeth Loftus and Professor Richard Ofshe. Loftus is a respected academic psychologist whose much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-sinason/two-other-highly-vocal-fmsf-advisory-board-members-are-dr-elizabeth/) [Valerie Sinason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-sinason/) > [With the advent of DNA, we know that people have been convicted and sentenced to death who later proved not to be guilty of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamala-harris/with-the-advent-of-dna-we-know-that-people-have-been-convicted-and/) [Kamala Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamala-harris/) > [If he is convicted, Dr. Kevorkian says he will die a martyr's death by going on a hunger strike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-dedman/if-he-is-convicted-dr-kevorkian-says-he-will-die-a-martyr-s-death-by/) [Bill Dedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-dedman/) > [“I'm not throwing you away! I'm setting you free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleatha-romig/i-m-not-throwing-you-away-i-m-setting-you-free/) [Aleatha Romig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleatha-romig/) > [Victims want to know that the true perpetrators of their crime are convicted - legal aid helps achieve this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadiq-khan/victims-want-to-know-that-the-true-perpetrators-of-their-crime-are/) [Sadiq Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadiq-khan/) > [You do not have to be convicted or even charged of a crime to be able to demonstrate that you've violated a personal conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-goodell/you-do-not-have-to-be-convicted-or-even-charged-of-a-crime-to-be-able/) [Roger Goodell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-goodell/) > [“I'd make you my favorite jungle gym if you'd let me.' - Katrina, 'Convicted”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-tenorio/i-d-make-you-my-favorite-jungle-gym-if-you-d-let-me-katrina-convicted/) [Dee Tenorio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-tenorio/) > [“Sweetheart, I’ll be a Marine ‘til they bury my cold, dead, decrepit ass in the ground a good fifty or sixty years from now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-tenorio/sweetheart-i-ll-be-a-marine-til-they-bury-my-cold-dead-decrepit-ass/) [Dee Tenorio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-tenorio/) > [“In all the interviews I have done, I cannot remember one offender who did not admit privately to more victims than those for whom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-all-the-interviews-i-have-done-i-cannot-remember-one-offender-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by John Wayne Gacy > [Well apparently nothing as of December 13, 1978. There was 20 trained police officers came to the house, with a warrant..searched the house, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne-gacy/well-apparently-nothing-as-of-december-13-1978-there-was-20-trained/) [John Wayne Gacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne-gacy/) > [A clown can get away with murder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne-gacy/a-clown-can-get-away-with-murder/) [John Wayne Gacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne-gacy/) > [GG Allin is an entertainer with a message to a sick society. He makes us look at it for what we really are. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne-gacy/gg-allin-is-an-entertainer-with-a-message-to-a-sick-society-he-makes/) [John Wayne Gacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne-gacy/) > [The dead won't bother you, it's the living you have to worry about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne-gacy/the-dead-won-t-bother-you-it-s-the-living-you-have-to-worry-about/) [John Wayne Gacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne-gacy/) > [That is what has been said in the media and at the trial. To this day nobody has produced one. There is no written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne-gacy/that-is-what-has-been-said-in-the-media-and-at-the-trial-to-this-day/) [John Wayne Gacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne-gacy/) > [I don't remember killing anyone, I could have done it without knowing it. I am not sure if I did it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne-gacy/i-don-t-remember-killing-anyone-i-could-have-done-it-without-knowing/) [John Wayne Gacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne-gacy/) > [No I don't think that's possible. I think it...after 14 years under truth serum had I committed the crime I would have known it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne-gacy/no-i-don-t-think-that-s-possible-i-think-it-after-14-years-under/) [John Wayne Gacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne-gacy/) > [Yes that's true but the house wasn't a home. Like what you..you know, what you go to a home to each night. The Summerdale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne-gacy/yes-that-s-true-but-the-house-wasn-t-a-home-like-what-you-you-know/) [John Wayne Gacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne-gacy/) > [Keep in mind the public has been brainwashed, and nearly 80% of what is known about me is fantasy and self serving theories of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne-gacy/keep-in-mind-the-public-has-been-brainwashed-and-nearly-80-of-what-is/) [John Wayne Gacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne-gacy/) > [If Jeffrey Dahmer doesn't meet the legal test of insanity, God help the one that does meet it. I mean, it - it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne-gacy/if-jeffrey-dahmer-doesn-t-meet-the-legal-test-of-insanity-god-help/) [John Wayne Gacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne-gacy/) > [It wasn't in the states best interest to let the jury know, they said it would raise doubt that John Gacy acted alone. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne-gacy/it-wasn-t-in-the-states-best-interest-to-let-the-jury-know-they-said/) [John Wayne Gacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne-gacy/) > [And then the time I was a clown and went to the hospital to visit the children, and I went into a room by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne-gacy/and-then-the-time-i-was-a-clown-and-went-to-the-hospital-to-visit-the/) [John Wayne Gacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne-gacy/) > [No. Of all the people who worked for PDM since most of it was sub contracted work, they were all young tradesmen. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne-gacy/no-of-all-the-people-who-worked-for-pdm-since-most-of-it-was-sub/) [John Wayne Gacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne-gacy/) > [If your talking about the Summerdale house and the bodies found there, we feel that some of them died of drug overdose, then buried…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne-gacy/if-your-talking-about-the-summerdale-house-and-the-bodies-found-there/) [John Wayne Gacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne-gacy/) > [There was no smell. Over the years time other than when it rained, the musty odour was present. People were in and out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne-gacy/there-was-no-smell-over-the-years-time-other-than-when-it-rained-the/) [John Wayne Gacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne-gacy/) [Explore all 19 John Wayne Gacy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne-gacy/) ## More Cemetery quotes > [The only people without problems are in cemeteries. If you don't have problems, get on your knees and pray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/the-only-people-without-problems-are-in-cemeteries-if-you-don-t-have/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [“In the middle of the cemetery is a grassy plane, strangely vacant. There are no granite tombs or crumbling concrete, just a sun-washed treeless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-caldwell-crosby/in-the-middle-of-the-cemetery-is-a-grassy-plane-strangely-vacant/) [Molly Caldwell Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-caldwell-crosby/) > [If it wasn't for baseball, I'd be in either the penitentiary or the cemetery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babe-ruth/if-it-wasn-t-for-baseball-i-d-be-in-either-the-penitentiary-or-the/) [Babe Ruth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babe-ruth/) > [I am surprised that many people disregard the fact that the end for almost all drug dealers ends up being the cemetery or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-pablo-escobar/i-am-surprised-that-many-people-disregard-the-fact-that-the-end-for/) [Juan Pablo Escobar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-pablo-escobar/) > [The founders of a new colony, whatever Utopia of human virtue and happiness they might originally project, have invariably recognized it among their earliest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-founders-of-a-new-colony-whatever-utopia-of-human-virtue-and/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“I visited my old haunt, but somehow without all my old friends there with me, the cemetery just wasn’t the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-visited-my-old-haunt-but-somehow-without-all-my-old-friends-there/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Being president of the University of California is like being manager of a cemetery: there are many people under you, but no one is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-yudof/being-president-of-the-university-of-california-is-like-being-manager/) [Mark Yudof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-yudof/) > [We think that a powerful and vigorous movement is impossible without differences - "true conformity" is possible only in the cemetery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/we-think-that-a-powerful-and-vigorous-movement-is-impossible-without/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [The cemetery of the victims of human cruelty in our century is extended to include yet another vast cemetery, that of the unborn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/the-cemetery-of-the-victims-of-human-cruelty-in-our-century-is/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [In old grimy streets, in isolated and decaying houses, sometimes far from the Vieux Carre, in little used and secluded cemeteries, there still sluggishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-john-laughlin/in-old-grimy-streets-in-isolated-and-decaying-houses-sometimes-far/) [Clarence John Laughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-john-laughlin/) > [Cats and dogs believe politicians are like cemetery caregivers; they are on top of everyone, but nobody listens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/cats-and-dogs-believe-politicians-are-like-cemetery-caregivers-they/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [“The atmosphere is always very grave when I walk into a cemetery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/the-atmosphere-is-always-very-grave-when-i-walk-into-a-cemetery/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Nothing exists except by virtue of a disequilibrium, an injustice. All existence is a theft paid for by other existences; no life flowers except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/nothing-exists-except-by-virtue-of-a-disequilibrium-an-injustice-all/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [ Our agreements on creating the conditions for preparing a peace treaty \[with Japan\] should be rooted in this trust. This may be achieved, for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/our-agreements-on-creating-the-conditions-for-preparing-a-peace/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [A cemetery saddens us because it is the only place of the world in which we do not meet our dead again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-mauriac/a-cemetery-saddens-us-because-it-is-the-only-place-of-the-world-in/) [Francois Mauriac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-mauriac/) [Browse all 309 Cemetery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cemetery/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I should never have been convicted of anything more serious than running a cemetery without a license.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Wayne Gacy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne-gacy/i-should-never-have-been-convicted-of-anything-more-serious-than/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cemetery" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne-gacy/i-should-never-have-been-convicted-of-anything-more-serious-than/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/john-wayne-gacy-28779_cemetery_i-should-never-have-been-convicted-of-an_1002693.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/john-wayne-gacy-28779_cemetery_i-should-never-have-been-convicted-of-an_1002693.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/john-wayne-gacy-28779_cemetery_i-should-never-have-been-convicted-of-an_1002693.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I should never have been convicted of anything more serious than running a cemetery without a license.” — John Wayne Gacy", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Wayne Gacy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne-gacy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I should never have been convicted...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne-gacy/i-should-never-have-been-convicted-of-anything-more-serious-than/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne-gacy/i-should-never-have-been-convicted-of-anything-more-serious-than/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```