US to execute mentally disabled woman

[Pasban]

US to execute mentally disabled woman
Wed Sep 8, 2010 5:54PM

Teresa Lewis, charged with masterminding the murder of her husband and stepson, will be executed in Virginia in September, 2010.
Virginia is slated to execute a borderline mentally disabled woman who pleaded guilty to masterminding the murder of her husband and stepson in 2002.

Teresa Lewis was charged with hiring two men Matthew Shallenberger and Rodney Fuller to kill her husband and stepson so that she could collect USD 350,000 of life insurance.

Lewis offered herself and her 16-year-old daughter to the two hitmen and covered the payment for the purchase of the assault weapon used.

Judge Charles Strauss gave the two triggermen life sentences, but condemned 40-year-old Lewis to death. She has already lost one appeal and is set to be executed on September 23 as the first woman to be put to death in Virginia in almost a century.

New evidence, however, has raised doubts about the fairness of the verdict. Lewis took two IQ tests after the trial, both of which placed her in the "borderline intellectual functioning" zone.

Forensic psychology experts also testified that Lewis has "dependent personality disorder," and is unable to carry out functions as simple as making a grocery list by herself, the Huffington Post reported.

In 2003, Shallenberger wrote to a fellow inmate that he had manipulated Lewis so that he could use the money to start a drug business in New York City.

Shallenberger committed suicide in prison three years later and Lewis' defense team has not been able to use the letter as evidence.

Lewis' chaplain at the maximum-security prison in Virginia also describes her as "slow and overly eager to please -- an easy mark, in other words, for a con."

"She didn't look like a remorseless killer, a 'mastermind' who plotted two murders, as the judge put it," Lynn Litchfield writes in a recent Newsweek article.

"In one of our sessions, she collapsed into great soul-shattering, body-heaving sobs and cried into my wrist, the only part of me I could get through the slot in the door."

Lewis' pro bono defense lawyer said her behavior on death row has been exemplary and should be considered when her petition is reviewed for clemency.

"Since she went to prison, she has been not only a model prisoner, but she has a huge amount of remorse and has developed a prison ministry under very harsh conditions," James Rocap told the Huffington Post.

"This is one of the better examples of what is wrong with the death penalty," he added.

"Because of the death penalty in Virginia, we have a remarkable individual who did not have any violent record at all being judged on her participation in one event in one day of her life."

Rocap said he took on the case because he believes the US justice system is flawed when it comes to the death penalty.

"The legal system for the most serious sanction you can possibly have doesn't operate well," he added.

"There is so much serendipity in what happens to people who do the same thing or even worse things than other people. There's so much inconsistency in who gets executed and who doesn't. I think it's important for the legal profession that we provide the most legal representation we can for people who are in danger of losing their lives."

The United States is among the countries with the highest number of executions.

The US courts condemned 37 convicts to death in 2008 and 52 convicts in 2009, one of whom was executed by the electric chair in Virginia.

The largest mass execution in American history was in 1862 when 38 people, convicted of murder and **** during the Dakota War, were hanged.

TE/HGH/MMN
PressTV - US to execute mentally disabled woman

 

[Pasban]

I am surprised by the sheer ignorance of foreign press, especially the likes of Voice of America Persian service (a source of first-hand news for me), on this issue. If it hadn't been for PressTV, I would have never come to know of this sad news. After much hounding and hype about the story surrounding Sakineh's sentence in Iran, I would have supposed that given the apparent uniform standards, this would have been brought to light as well. Interestingly, this women would not be punished in Iran for the law codes makes exceptions for those proven of mental inability.

Whether Teresa or Sakineh, the shameful world of politics very evidently cares for neither. Shame on the politically motivated and self-positioned champions of human rights for their ignorance and lack of value towards humanity. They demean those who actually feel the injustice put on others.

According to Wikipedia, the methods used for execution in the US for not very mild compared to other countries-- Electrocution, Shooting, Gassing, Hanging, Injection. Electrocution is probably the most painful, followed shooting and then gassing. Death doesn't follow instantly after one is shot. Even with multiple hits, it may take one 15 very painful seconds to pass into death. Being mentally ill, I doubt she'd be able to make sense of anything except perhaps the pain, which is something all of us understand.

This is the gassing chamber:

 

[below_freezing]

electrocution depends on many small factors. sometimes, someone has abnormally high resistance, which causes the current to literally burn their eyes out instead of merely stopping their heart.

also note that lethal injection consists of barbituates and KCl. barbituates are sedatives, but there are cases where they do not work. in that case, the inmate would feel the KCl forcibly contracting the heart muscles and stopping his heart, while being completely immobilized in the execution chamber.

 

[Hussein]

I am surprised by the sheer ignorance of foreign press, especially the likes of Voice of America Persian service (a source of first-hand news for me), on this issue. If it hadn't been for PressTV, I would have never come to know of this sad news. After much hounding and hype about the story surrounding Sakineh's sentence in Iran, I would have supposed that given the apparent uniform standards, this would have been brought to light as well. Interestingly, this women would not be punished in Iran for the law codes makes exceptions for those proven of mental inability.

Whether Teresa or Sakineh, the shameful world of politics very evidently cares for neither. Shame on the politically motivated and self-positioned champions of human rights for their ignorance and lack of value towards humanity. They demean those who actually feel the injustice put on others.

According to Wikipedia, the methods used for execution in the US for not very mild compared to other countries-- Electrocution, Shooting, Gassing, Hanging, Injection. Electrocution is probably the most painful, followed shooting and then gassing. Death doesn't follow instantly after one is shot. Even with multiple hits, it may take one 15 very painful seconds to pass into death. Being mentally ill, I doubt she'd be able to make sense of anything except perhaps the pain, which is something all of us understand.

This is the gassing chamber:

i could read it on :
Teresa Lewis, Mentally Disabled Woman, To Be Executed In Virginia This Month

she is guilty not sakineh but you are right this is inhuman way
like you i am chocked by some 'humanist self named ' people who care only for rights when it is in their political interest

what i am 1000 times more shocked
is that nobody except Iranians care about Nazar Ahari human right activist who is doing great job in Iran and could be executed.

 

[SixSigma1978]

So next time I Kill a person - I'm gonna take an "IQ" Test - get 60 (chimpanzees have an IQ of 65 I hear?) - and get my lawyers to get me off the hook because I'm a Chimp?

 

[AliFarooq]

if u can hire some 1 to murder for money, there is nothing wrong with you.

 

[Jigs]

There should be no death penalty in the world. It is a failed system and has no effect on crime rates. All it does is make someone feel better by seeing someone that damaged them die. That seems very modern.

 

[gambit]

There should be no death penalty in the world. It is a failed system and has no effect on crime rates. All it does is make someone feel better by seeing someone that damaged them die. That seems very modern.

By that logic, we should do away with prisons or speeding tickets because people still commit robberies, assaults, and drive over the speed limits.

 

[siegecrossbow]

How do the psychiatrists tell whether someone is really insane or not? I'm sure there are people who are capable of faking insanity.

 

[Jigs]

By that logic, we should do away with prisons or speeding tickets because people still commit robberies, assaults, and drive over the speed limits.

It isn't logic it is a fact. What we actually need are rehabilitation centers for these people while they serve their sentence. A very complex and strict process. Where prisoners go into rehab. If they can not complete it or do and are deemed not ready they continue to serve their sentence(where in a period they enter the program once again). Some (more extreme cases would serve out the rest of their lives and no entrance would be granted to them) while most will be able to become a productive member of society again after they complete the course.

Damn Cool Pics: 5 Star Prison in Austria prisons should also be like this rather then places that give you completely no hope of even wanting to live.


Killing people solves nothing. It is counter productive and stupid. I wonder why the U.S. has the most prisoners in the world and the most prisoner return rate.

 

[gambit]

It isn't logic it is a fact. What we actually need are rehabilitation centers for these people while they serve their sentence. A very complex and strict process. Where prisoners go into rehab. If they can not complete it or do and are deemed not ready they continue to serve their sentence(where in a period they enter the program once again). Some (more extreme cases would serve out the rest of their lives and no entrance would be granted to them) while most will be able to become a productive member of society again after they complete the course.

Damn Cool Pics: 5 Star Prison in Austria prisons should also be like this rather then places that give you completely no hope of even wanting to live.


Killing people solves nothing. It is counter productive and stupid. I wonder why the U.S. has the most prisoners in the world and the most prisoner return rate.

The crux of your argument is that the death penalty does not deter crimes, or specifically heinous crimes like murders. The death penalty is a form of punishment, or retribution, towards a violation of societal norms. Imprisonment or financial levies are also retributions towards other violations of societal norms. Gradations of punishments, from financial levies to the death penalty, are indicators that we are fully cognizant of the levels of harms done to our societies AND of our moral outrages. So if these many punishments do not deter crimes, from simple theft of a restaurant dinner, aka 'dine and dash', to armed robbery of a bank, then by YOUR criticism of the death penalty we should do away with prisons just as we should do away with the death penalty because murders are still being committed. If killing people solves nothing, then show me credible evidences that speeding tickets solve traffic violations.

 

[Rajput Warrior]

Try public beheadings like the saudis and see the crime rate fall!

 

[Bang Galore]

There should be no death penalty in the world. It is a failed system and has no effect on crime rates. All it does is make someone feel better by seeing someone that damaged them die. That seems very modern.

Loss of liberty might work in Europe as sufficient deterrent because of the way their society has evolved. In countries like ours people would gladly spend a decade locked up and be treated as heroes on their return when murder is committed for honour or other clan reasons. The possibility of death may deter people from considering what they do lightly. I know studies in the west are inconclusive but if a study is carried out here, I would imagine some results would turn out very different.

I believe that India executes far fewer people than it should.A ruthless justice system would invoke some fear. I also never understand the comment that" Death penalty is not a deterrent". It most certainly is. It is certainly going to prevent the condemned guy from committing any more crimes. Deterrence enough and if as you say execution of one does not deter others from committing similar crimes, then they too should be deterred by their own executions. There is no shortage of jute rope.

 

[gambit]

Try public beheadings like the saudis and see the crime rate fall!

You are more correct than you realize about human behavior. As a motorcyclist, I dread losing my bike for any reason. Same for anyone who love his car. Am willing to bet that if, instead of gradations of financial levies based upon how much more over the posted speed limits was the violation, how about we automatically impound for 30 days any vehicle from any operator busted for speeding? People would howl themselves hoarse about the excessive punishment but am willing to bet dollars-to-doughnuts that speeding would drop overnight.

 

[Jigs]

Loss of liberty might work in Europe as sufficient deterrent because of the way their society has evolved. In countries like ours people would gladly spend a decade locked up and be treated as heroes on their return when murder is committed for honour or other clan reasons. The possibility of death may deter people from considering what they do lightly. I know studies in the west are inconclusive but if a study is carried out here, I would imagine some results would turn out very different.

I believe that India executes far fewer people than it should.A ruthless justice system would invoke some fear. I also never understand the comment that" Death penalty is not a deterrent". It most certainly is. It is certainly going to prevent the condemned guy from committing any more crimes. Deterrence enough and if as you say execution of one does not deter others from committing similar crimes, then they too should be deterred by their own executions. There is no shortage of jute rope.

A society like that i agree as death for them is embedded into their culture. Not for the U.S. though it has been modernized into a forum of revenge and nothing more.