Kriti Mehrotra
As a Zachary Treitz-directed docuseries living up to its title in every way conceivable, Netflix’s ‘American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders’ can only be described as baffling and intriguing. That’s because it delves deep into how a journalist uncovered the threads of a possible international political scandal by exploring the infamous PROMIS ordeal surrounding INSLAW just for it to somehow lead to his demise. The individuals behind his brutal death were unfortunately never identified, but we do know that the man behind this latter information technology company was Founder-President William “Bill” Hamilton.
Who is Bill Hamilton?
It was reportedly back when Bill was relatively young that he first developed a keen interest in intelligence groups as well as technology, only for it to continue expanding as the years passed. The truth is this actually went to such an extent he ended up pursuing a career in it almost as soon as he could, unaware he’d soon find himself landing a spot at the National Security Agency (NSA). According to records, the Midwesterner was loyal to this government agency for years before deciding to amicably part ways so as to spread his wings into the private sector too, enabling him to maintain some key connections.
Therefore, of course, Bill ostensibly often had inside knowledge of our world’s social, economic, political workings, yet what truly helped him thrive on his own was his unwavering ambitions and mind. It thus comes as no surprise he came up with the idea of establishing the Institute for Law & Social Research (INSLAW) by 1973, alongside his wife Nancy, to help law enforcement manage cases. In other words, his aim for this organization was to equip all agencies with such a software that it’ll make handling all their cases easy through the simple process of data input plus automation.
As per documents, INSLAW was initially just a non-profit firm funded by significant grants and contracts from the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA), but it was enough for them to develop the Prosecutors’ Management Information System (PROMIS). So, once LEAA was abolished around 1980, Bill chose to continue his work by launching a for-profit version of his Institute and transferring all its assets/services to this brand-new corporation. It was hence after this that they sold their system to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) for implementation within all their offices under a clear contract signed around 1982.
However, by the time 1984 rolled around, the latter had either canceled portions of their deal or was withholding payments over one matter or another, that is, until INSLAW was struggling to stay afloat. This unfortunately continued as time passed despite Bill’s best efforts to reach common ground, driving the business to file for bankruptcy in 1985 and kickstarting a whole ordeal between them and the DOJ. We specify the latter because that’s when proprietary rights disputes arose too, with the IT company stating this government agency had essentially stolen their product over the years.
INSLAW actually sued DOJ in 1986 for their attempt to drive them “out of business through trickery, fraud, and deceit” by withholding significant fees as well as pirating their entire software. They then won damages worth several million in bankruptcy court, much to Bill’s delight since it would’ve enabled the organization to resume operation, but this verdict was overturned upon appeal. In the end, following several internal reviews, bench changes, plus Congressional investigations, the Court of Federal Claims ultimately ruled entirely against all claims made by the former — it was in 1998.
Between these 12 years from 1986 to 1998, Bill had purportedly embarked on his own investigation into this matter, uncovering several complex pieces as to why his enterprise was not getting paid. According to him and journalist Danny Casolaro, it turns out the DOJ had simply prioritized paying off Earl Brian for his alleged aid in helping President Roland Raegen clench the 1981 elections. INSLAW was targeted since Earl was a software developer-entrepreneur himself, and their biggest competition was this firm following Bill’s refusal to sell, and then came the international sale piracy.
Where is Bill Hamilton Now?
Despite the fact none of Bill’s claims have ever been backed by officials or proven in a court, the fact of the matter remains he has receipts; receipts he shared with both Danny and ‘American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders.’ However, he has long since retreated from the public limelight in an effort to move on in his life to the best of his abilities, which is why he even refused to partake in this documentary despite several requests. Therefore, today, from what we can tell, this whizbang inventor as well as computer software developer continues to reside in Washington alongside his loving family, all the while remaining well away from the spotlight in every way, shape, and form, meaning we unfortunately don’t know much regarding his current professional standing.
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