RAW DEAL: The Untold Story of NYPD’s “Cannibal Cop” is now available!
Raw Deal was released last week, and it is off to a great start. The book touched the #1 spot in four best seller categories on Amazon.com. Thanks to everyone out there who has been interested enough in this important criminal case to buy the book to help me storm out of the gates. I am very grateful, and all of this is very exciting for me. A special thank you is owed to everyone who has taken the time to look me up on social media and offer words of encouragement. I can’t thank you all enough.
With this controversial case and its many lurid and graphic details comes a lot of press. Last week I did an interview every single day. There is a lot of interest out there from many different media outlets, and in today’s day and age, all of these interviews are easily accessible on social media. In fact, I have shared many of them on my own social media accounts.
One thing that has been pretty remarkable is the number of people who publicly comment on Facebook or Twitter calling for my incarceration or my death, even though it has been shown in federal court that I clearly did not commit any crime. Here are a few public comments from recent articles about the book (names intentionally withheld):
- “Gee. This animal hasn’t been shot yet?”
- “Someone…should put him in his place…it can be anyone…”
- “Hmm, well the only cure for what he has is, the firing squad…That will cure him…”
- “Can’t we just kill him and get it over with already?”
- “Well maybe he needs to be put down!”
- “He needs to be put down.”
- “Jesus Lord put this guy 10 feet under.”
- “His life does not matter. He needs a bullet.”
- “Kill him.”
- “BUT WHY IS HE STILL ALIVE?!”
These people have the right to say these things!
Gil Valle was just a “normal” guy–a police officer and a Yankee fan–until the FBI decided to arrest him for his thoughts.
In a free and functioning society with freedom of speech, nothing should happen to any of these people. If they get into legal trouble because of these posts, then I would have to be in trouble as well for everything I wrote on the Internet.
Don’t get me wrong, if one of these people made their way to New York City with the intent of physically harming me, that is something completely different. People spouting off on the Internet, fantasizing about my death? Bring it on. The irony of their posts completely escapes them; They have a right to say these things, in part, because of the way my case played out.
All of this being said, I do think that the vast majority of people (maybe even including some of the people who currently want me dead) who read the book will reach the right conclusion. I am not looking for people to like me. I just want people to conclude that I should not have been in prison.
But until then, if you or someone you know wants to comment on an article and say that I should be killed, be sure to appreciate the hell that I went through–facing life in prison for unconventional thoughts–before posting.
I love Gilberto
Raw Deal is definitely the correct title for this story. Everyone has their own fantasies, many people write fiction. Our society needs to take a good hard look at a lot of things. Think about the new law Trump signed allowing your isp to sell your browsing history and that will give you pause for thought after reading this book. We lock up more people in this country than in any country and are being back private prisons. Thankfully, at least the truth had come out in this case.