In supposed contrast to his lavish cosmopolitan lifestyle before incarceration, Lecter was sequestered in a dreary basement cell no bigger than a child's bedroom—three walls of grey rock, and a doorless, plexiglass partition for the other—only his drawings of classic opera scenes for a view.
His exposure to interpersonal contact was purposefully kept to the barest clinical minimum... hardly an enabling environment for someone whose obsession is killing people and eating parts of them.
But Hannibal the Cannibal had something up his sleeve. One day, he complained about some chest pains. He was readied for transport, removed from his cell, and taken to the hospital dispensary. In order to make applying the ECG electrodes easier, his straps and restraints were removed.
Then he viciously attacked one of the attending nurses. Among her injuries was a dislocated jaw, and a torn-out eye. According to Dr. Chilton, Lecter's pulse never raised above 85—even when he ate the nurse's tongue. Talk about a commitment. Surely a meal both she and Dr. Lecter would never forget. That day was Wednesday, July 8, 1981... probably no need to send a card.
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