Aileen Wuornos: Monster or Victim?

"Highway Hooker.""Damsel of Death.""Lesbian Killer."You may have seen these headlines in the case of Aileen Wuornos. What you may not have seen is everything that came before those headlines.Aileen Wuornos killed seven men on Florida highways in the late 80s and early 90s. She was convicted and sentenced to death, ultimately executed in 2002. But, the world decided who she was and what she deserved before her trial had even begun.The world wasn't privy to the knowledge that Aileen was abused by her grandfather, violated by family members and family friends, began selling herself at nine for food and cigarettes, and lived in the woods from the age of 15. The world is unaware that she became pregnant as a child and was forced to give up the baby she never met.Many people are also unaware that her defense team didn't offer critical evidence in her murder trial that may have proven one of her killings to have been self-defense.Aileen's story has been told countless times before. Let me offer it with more truth and less sensationalism.