In 1974, Willie Horton murdered 17-year-old gas station attendant Joseph "Joey" Fournier during a stick up and left his body in a dumpster. In June 1986 Horton failed to return after a weekend furlough from a minimum security facility, whence he traveled to Maryland and assaulted a young couple, repeatedly raping the female. He is still in prison in Maryland.
During the 1988 presidential campaign, Democratic rival Al Gore brought up the incident to hamper Michael Dukakis's chances. After Dukakis secured the nomination, an "unaffiliated" poltical action committee (PAC) released the imfamous "revolving door advertisement.