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  • 1st woman in 5 years executed in US amid outcry

    1st woman in 5 years executed in US amid outcry
    By STEVE SZKOTAK, Associated Press Writer Steve Szkotak, Associated Press Writer 1 hr 14 mins ago

    JARRATT, Va. – The first woman executed in the United States in five years was put to death in Virginia on Thursday for arranging the killings of her husband and a stepson over a $250,000 insurance payment.

    Teresa Lewis, 41, died by injection at 9:13 p.m. Thursday, authorities said. She became the first woman executed in Virginia in nearly a century. Supporters and relatives of the victims watched her execution at Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt.

    Lewis enticed two men through sex, cash and a promised cut in an insurance policy to shoot her husband, Julian Clifton Lewis Jr., and his son, Charles, as they slept in October 2002. Both triggermen were sentenced to life in prison and one committed suicide in 2006.

    Lewis appeared fearful, her jaw clenched, as she was escorted into the death chamber. She glanced tensely around at 14 assembled corrections officials before being bound to a gurney with heavy leather straps.

    Moments before her execution, Lewis asked if her husband's daughter was near.

    Kathy Clifton, Lewis' stepdaughter, was in an adjacent witness room blocked from the inmate's view by a two-way mirror.

    "I want Kathy to know that I love her and I'm very sorry," Lewis said.

    Then, as the drugs flowed into her body, her feet bobbed but she otherwise remained motionless. A guard lightly tapped her on the shoulder reassuringly as she slipped into death.

    More than 7,300 appeals to stop the execution — the first of a woman in Virginia since 1912 — had been made to the governor in a state second only to Texas in the number of people it executes.

    Texas held the most recent U.S. execution of a woman in 2005. Out of more than 1,200 people put to death since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976, only 11 have been women.

    The 41-year-old woman, who defense attorneys said was borderline mentally disabled, had inspired other inmates by singing Christian hymns in prison. Her fate also had drawn appeals from the European Union, an indignant rebuke from Iran and the disgust of thousands of people.

    The Lewis execution stirred an unusual amount of attention because of her gender, claims she lacked the intelligence to mastermind the killings and the post-conviction emergence of defense evidence that one of the triggermen manipulated her.

    Lewis' supporters also said she was a changed woman. They pointed to testimonials from former prison chaplains and inmates that Lewis comforted and inspired other inmates with her faith and the hymns and country gospel tunes she sang at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women where she was long held.

    Hours before her execution, Lewis met with family, her spiritual adviser and supporters at the Greensville Correctional Center.

    Her spiritual adviser, the Rev. Julie Perry, stood sobbing as she later witnessed the execution, clutching a religious book.

    Throughout her life, a faith in God had been a seeming constant for Lewis — whether it was the prayer with her husband or her ministry behind bars.

    But by her own admission, Lewis' life has been marked by outrageous bouts of sex and betrayal even as she hewed to the trappings of Christianity.

    "I was doing drugs, stealing, lying and having several affairs during my marriages," Lewis wrote in a statement that was read at a prison religious service in August. "I went to church every Sunday, Friday and revivals but guess what? I didn't open my Bible at home, only when I was at church."

    Her father said she ran off to get married, then later abandoned her children and ran off with her sister's husband. Then she had an affair with her sister's fiance while at the same time having an affair with another man.

    Lewis' life took a deadly turn after she married Julian, whom she met at a Danville textile factory in 2000. Two years later, his son Charles entered the U.S. Army Reserve. When he was called for active duty he obtained a $250,000 life insurance policy, naming his father the beneficiary and providing temptation for Teresa Lewis.

    Both men would have to die for Lewis to receive the insurance payout.

    She met at a Walmart with the two men who ultimately killed Julian Lewis and his son. Lewis began an affair with Matthew Shallenberger and later had sex with the other triggerman, Rodney Fuller. She also arranged sex with Fuller and her daughter, who was 16, in a parking lot.

    On the night before Halloween in 2002, after she prayed with her husband, Lewis got out of bed, unlocked the door to their mobile home and put the couple's pit bull in a bedroom so the animal wouldn't interfere. Shallenberger and Fuller came in and shot both men several times with the shotguns Lewis had bought for them.

    On a grassy knoll beside the correctional center, those opposed to the execution protested with signs and banners in the twilight Thursday. Critics said they were repulsed by Virginia's killing of a woman.

    "Tonight the death machine exterminated the beautiful childlike and loving spirit of Teresa Lewis," said the condemned woman's lawyer, James Rocap.

    __

    Online:

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    To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

  • #2
    "Tonight the death machine exterminated the beautiful childlike and loving spirit of Teresa Lewis," said the condemned woman's lawyer, James Rocap.

    Childlike, loving ??? oh never mind the premeditated murdering of loved ones while they sleep, she really is loving ... And pimping her 16yr old daughter to finance her "hits" ... what a fine example of humanity ...To be merciful to the cruel is to be cruel to the innocent.

    If this lawyer is so disturbed about the outcome, perhaps he could join her in death out of solidarity - he could drink some drano... Then he wouldn't have to defend her kind... Whether this woman was a female or mentally challenged is inconsequential - she was a cold blooded murderer, she was able to accomplish a sickening string of crimes against humanity, and society needs to be protected by eliminating her vile carcass - the consequences for her actions need to be clearly demonstrated to the population at large - we can't harbor and coddle vicious murderers in our midst. I think her execution was excessively merciful, she could have been more justly hung, with a nice old rope - seasoned 1 1/8" hemp - or keelhauled with the same rope on a rusty old aircraft carrier hull covered in barnacles.
    Last edited by USSWisconsin; 24 Sep 10,, 14:58.
    sigpic"If your plan is for one year, plant rice. If your plan is for ten years, plant trees.
    If your plan is for one hundred years, educate children."

    Comment


    • #3
      Whatever one thinks of the death penalty, the idea that's it's worse to execute a women than a man flies in the face of the feminine equality movement.
      To be Truly ignorant, Man requires an Education - Plato

      Comment


      • #4
        She got what she deserved. Good riddance.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by JAD_333 View Post
          Whatever one thinks of the death penalty, the idea that's it's worse to execute a women than a man flies in the face of the feminine equality movement.
          Very true, said as one who's both opposed to the death penalty and supports the feminist movement.

          It's not worse, it's equally horrific though.
          Last edited by crooks; 24 Sep 10,, 11:00.
          Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservative.
          - John Stuart Mill.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by citanon View Post
            She got what she deserved. Good riddance.
            Totally agree .

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by JAD_333 View Post
              Whatever one thinks of the death penalty, the idea that's it's worse to execute a women than a man flies in the face of the feminine equality movement.
              It does, doesn't it but that's exactly why there is an outcry.

              Good thing laws don't always get made based on popular support vs principles.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by crooks View Post
                Very true, said as one who's both opposed to the death penalty and supports the feminist movement.

                It's not worse, it's equally horrific though.
                The problem is, executions take much too long to carry out. Giving condemned people 5, 10 or more years to burnish their image and make suitable acts of contrition, and then killing them does indeed seem cruel, and may be. In the old day, executions were carried out in days or weeks of conviction, not leaving condemned persons any time to establish their "true" humanity and milk the sympathies of the public. That had a deterrent effect. Given that these days condemned people are given hope of avoiding execution, the whole point of it is defeated. And further it is ludicrous that so few people are condemned to die for offenses that are committed in the thousands. Clearly that means it's no longer a deterrent to violent crime, but rather more like a lottery.
                To be Truly ignorant, Man requires an Education - Plato

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by JAD_333 View Post
                  The problem is, executions take much too long to carry out. Giving condemned people 5, 10 or more years to burnish their image and make suitable acts of contrition, and then killing them does indeed seem cruel, and may be. In the old day, executions were carried out in days or weeks of conviction, not leaving condemned persons any time to establish their "true" humanity and milk the sympathies of the public. That had a deterrent effect. Given that these days condemned people are given hope of avoiding execution, the whole point of it is defeated. And further it is ludicrous that so few people are condemned to die for offenses that are committed in the thousands. Clearly that means it's no longer a deterrent to violent crime, but rather more like a lottery.
                  I'd say to a degree there is that, but the corresponding weakening of the death penalty's application and the fact that it takes so long to happen is a good thing in itself - there's a word for a state with efficient execution of it's citizens, and it sure ain't what America has been to so many oppressed nations who've seen what liberty can be by looking towards your shores. It is indeed also bitterly unfair to see it unevenly applied and the few made examples for the crimes of the many, as well as the disturbing racial and intelligence statistics.

                  Personally, I just don't think the state should ever have the power to murder any of it's citizens, regardless of crime. It's ironic that those small government types are often wanting to get the state the hell out of business, and the hell into giving the state power over life and death. I voted in favour of abolition when we held a vote in 2002 (which passed) and was proud to do so. This woman was evil, unquestionably. The people don't have to be evil to get their own back.

                  But, I know not everyone agrees with me on that, and I respect their right to differ, it's an emotive issue.
                  Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservative.
                  - John Stuart Mill.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by tankie View Post
                    Totally agree .
                    Agreed,.
                    Fortitude.....The strength to persist...The courage to endure.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by crooks View Post
                      I
                      Personally, I just don't think the state should ever have the power to murder any of it's citizens, regardless of crime.
                      I wouldn't characterize it as murder, which is an illegal taking of life. Anyway, it's a state rights issue, not a federal one. The states that have capital punishment are acting as the instrument of the people's will. If a majority of people in any state wanted to end capital ounishment, it would end. But in states that now have it, a sure way to lose an election is to favor eliminating capital punishment. Nationwide, it would take a Constitutional amendment.
                      To be Truly ignorant, Man requires an Education - Plato

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by JAD_333 View Post
                        I wouldn't characterize it as murder, which is an illegal taking of life. Anyway, it's a state rights issue, not a federal one. The states that have capital punishment are acting as the instrument of the people's will. If a majority of people in any state wanted to end capital ounishment, it would end. But in states that now have it, a sure way to lose an election is to favor eliminating capital punishment. Nationwide, it would take a Constitutional amendment.
                        I've always called it murder, in the sense that it is killing, the only difference is it's sanctioned by the state. Thanks to our amendement it actually is murder here too, so from my side it's completely accurate to refer to it as such. And yep, there's no chance of it being abolished in the US anytime soon, in fairness there's no concencus or common position achievable in any case between states, so it's not even really worth pursuing.
                        Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservative.
                        - John Stuart Mill.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          There is a difference between killing and murder. Soldiers on a battlefield kill with focused determination. It is not murder. The first power of any state is lethal enforcement on its own citizens. Your government may have deemed it illegal to execute criminals but they have not abandoned the right to kill you at will.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by JAD_333 View Post
                            In the old day, executions were carried out in days or weeks of conviction, not leaving condemned persons any time to establish their "true" humanity and milk the sympathies of the public. That had a deterrent effect.
                            And to extend on your idea further, they were also a lot more gruesome ala medieval style.

                            But we stopped doing that a while ago so I wonder at what point did it cease to have a deterrent effect ?

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Officer of Engineers View Post
                              Soldiers on a battlefield kill with focused determination. It is not murder.
                              Self-defense.

                              Originally posted by Officer of Engineers View Post
                              The first power of any state is lethal enforcement on its own citizens. Your government may have deemed it illegal to execute criminals but they have not abandoned the right to kill you at will.
                              Again if its in self-defense then it is consistant with laws that state one may not take the life of another.

                              What i'm unsure of is whether there is an inherent contradiction here with the self-defense counter ?

                              One is done at the time of the crime, the other is deferred by a trial with a sentence awarded later.

                              Therefore does it follow if, in principle, one supports killing in self-defence that one is contradicting oneself if one is also opposed to the death sentence ?

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