Va. could execute 1st woman in nearly a century

[rightsaidfred]

A woman convicted of two hired killings is scheduled to die by injection Thursday and become the first woman put to death in Virginia in nearly a century, after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to block her execution.

Teresa Lewis, 41, was sentenced to death for providing sex and money to two men to kill her husband and stepson in October 2002 so she could collect on a quarter-million dollar insurance pay out. The nation's high court refused Tuesday to intervene.

Lewis pleaded guilty in May 2003 to two counts of capital murder for hire in the slayings of her husband Julian Lewis and her stepson, Charles Lewis.

The triggermen, Matthew Shallenberger and Rodney Fuller, were sentenced to life terms. Shallenberger, who Rocap names as the mastermind, committed suicide in prison in 2006.

"If she was not the mastermind — and it is now clear she was not — it is grossly unfair to impose the death sentence on her while Shallenberger and Fuller received life," Rocap wrote to McDonnell.

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I am not opposed to the death penalty where it is applicable. That's just my opinion, and not the point of this post. But what the article fails to mention is something I read in Newsweek: that this woman has an IQ of 74. That, coupled with the portion of the article I pasted, seems to deem the DP out of line, IMO.

The whole article here:

http://www.comcast.n...oman.Condemned/

[Flip Wilson]

"If she was not the mastermind — and it is now clear she was not — it is grossly unfair to impose the death sentence on her while Shallenberger and Fuller received life," Rocap wrote to McDonnell.

I have news for them. The person that cooked up this scheme is clearly not "The Mastermind" anyway.

[LouDog]

If she wou;d have cooked my **** eggs over easy like I asked, it wouldnt have to come to this.

[Xnex]

A woman convicted of two hired killings is scheduled to die by injection Thursday and become the first woman put to death in Virginia in nearly a century, after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to block her execution.

Teresa Lewis, 41, was sentenced to death for providing sex and money to two men to kill her husband and stepson in October 2002 so she could collect on a quarter-million dollar insurance pay out. The nation's high court refused Tuesday to intervene.

Lewis pleaded guilty in May 2003 to two counts of capital murder for hire in the slayings of her husband Julian Lewis and her stepson, Charles Lewis.

The triggermen, Matthew Shallenberger and Rodney Fuller, were sentenced to life terms. Shallenberger, who Rocap names as the mastermind, committed suicide in prison in 2006.

"If she was not the mastermind — and it is now clear she was not — it is grossly unfair to impose the death sentence on her while Shallenberger and Fuller received life," Rocap wrote to McDonnell.

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I am not opposed to the death penalty where it is applicable. That's just my opinion, and not the point of this post. But what the article fails to mention is something I read in Newsweek: that this woman has an IQ of 74. That, coupled with the portion of the article I pasted, seems to deem the DP out of line, IMO.

The whole article here:

http://www.comcast.n...oman.Condemned/

I believe I stand with you on this one. A 74 IQ is terribly low, and indicates retardation, I think. I used to be firmly opposed to the death penalty on a couple of fronts. Now, I am a bit more accepting of it, but I still think it should be for only the most heinous cases and cases in which there is literally zero doubt about the guilt of the person convicted. The idea of killing an innocent person due to faulty evidence is horrific to me.

[nuccah]

I'd look at it this way:

What evidence do you have that Schallenberger was the one who came up with the idea and manipulated Lewis into the act? It's convenient to blame a dead guy.

Second, you are clearly not a good and decent person if you have clear thoughts, no matter how low your IQ is, to murder both your husband and stepson. Let alone actually have the act committed.

[pencilpusher. just because]

I'd look at it this way:

What evidence do you have that Schallenberger was the one who came up with the idea and manipulated Lewis into the act? It's convenient to blame a dead guy.

Second, you are clearly not a good and decent person if you have clear thoughts, no matter how low your IQ is, to murder both your husband and stepson. Let alone actually have the act committed.

I am as pro death penalty as can be, but living right around here where it happened Something just doesn't feel right about it all. The guys who actually pulled the triggers that killed the guys got life, and she got death. There was also a letter that the now dead guy wrote to another woman he was seeing in which he described her( Lewis) as someone he could dupe and how he planned to use the insurance money to go to New York and start a drug business.

Now none of this may prove concretely that it was him that was the " mastermind", but I think it throws enough doubt into the mix as far as she goes. And it has never been in doubt that it was he who pulled the trigger.

[Rambler]

Dont mess up in the Commonwealth. We only trail only Texas in executions and our kingpin laws might be the strictest in the nation. We were the first state to even call excessive spammers kingpins. We built so many prisons in the 80`s that we imported prisoners from other states. Some of these states demanded their prisoners back because the guards beat alot of them to the brink of death. Its not Peru but were trying.

[rightsaidfred]

So, they did it.

Sad to me, because of the different facts mentioned in this thread. The article I read today describing the execution even stated that she was borderline mentally disabled. Sometimes our system of Justice doesn't actually do justice, IMO.

[GEORGIAfan]

now im not against her getting life, because the killers got life, but i dont feel sorry for her and her low IQ. blaming a dead guy is BS to me. if he was the mastermind, then why would he kill himself.

[kicker]

She apologized to her daughter in law before she was executed. That's a pretty clear sign she knew what she did was wrong.

[rightsaidfred]

She apologized to her daughter in law before she was executed. That's a pretty clear sign she knew what she did was wrong.

Agreed. And not to belabor the point and certainly not to argue - I just feel that all things considered, taking her life was extreme. Each case should be evaluated on it's own merit. Just sayin' Thanks for the discussion. -_-

[muskokas finest ©]

I was hoping Paris Hilton would be the first woman to the gas chamber.

[Xnex]

now im not against her getting life, because the killers got life, but i dont feel sorry for her and her low IQ. blaming a dead guy is BS to me. if he was the mastermind, then why would he kill himself.

Because he was going to spend the rest of his life in prison. It's not uncommon in that situation.

[pencilpusher. just because]

now im not against her getting life, because the killers got life, but i dont feel sorry for her and her low IQ. blaming a dead guy is BS to me. if he was the mastermind, then why would he kill himself.

Blaming the dead guy isn't BS at all when a letter he wrote spoke about how easy she was to dupe and he wrote how he was going to use the insurance money to start a drug business.

Also, SHE was the first person to turn herself in. SHE did not pull the trigger, that much is not in doubt. Theres no way the guy who actually did the killing should get off easier than someone who they accuse of telling him to do it.

[Joremarid]

I believe I stand with you on this one. A 74 IQ is terribly low, and indicates retardation, I think. I used to be firmly opposed to the death penalty on a couple of fronts. Now, I am a bit more accepting of it, but I still think it should be for only the most heinous cases and cases in which there is literally zero doubt about the guilt of the person convicted. The idea of killing an innocent person due to faulty evidence is horrific to me.

I'll probably start up a flame war here but i guess you could say that I am where you used to be, that is opposed to the death penalty. Life, regardless of the fact as to whether or not that person deserves to live, should not be taken. Put them in prison, throw away the key, but don't take their life.

[kicker]

Blaming the dead guy isn't BS at all when a letter he wrote spoke about how easy she was to dupe and he wrote how he was going to use the insurance money to start a drug business.

Also, SHE was the first person to turn herself in. SHE did not pull the trigger, that much is not in doubt. Theres no way the guy who actually did the killing should get off easier than someone who they accuse of telling him to do it.

Then nuke his *** as well.

She shouldn't get leniency because she turned herself in.

Her deliberate actions led to the death of two people. And the world is a better place without her in it. K BYE!

[GEORGIAfan]

Because he was going to spend the rest of his life in prison. It's not uncommon in that situation.

well i was wondering why it made him the ring leader. usually the mastermind is more stable than the henchmen. i would think that the henchmen would kill themselves.

[GEORGIAfan]

Blaming the dead guy isn't BS at all when a letter he wrote spoke about how easy she was to dupe and he wrote how he was going to use the insurance money to start a drug business.

Also, SHE was the first person to turn herself in. SHE did not pull the trigger, that much is not in doubt. Theres no way the guy who actually did the killing should get off easier than someone who they accuse of telling him to do it.

do we have proof that he wrote it? like undeniable fact that it was not forged? i doubt it, so you cant say he wrote. 2nd of all if he was the mastermind, then how did he find out about the insurance policy? im not an expert on the situation, but he had to find out from her. 2nd him writing a letter saying she isnt very smart and how he was gonna trick her doesnt mean he came up with the original idea to do the killing. people get screwed over by their "partners" all the time.

and like 2tear said. world is a safer place without her.

[Joremarid]

do we have proof that he wrote it? like undeniable fact that it was not forged? i doubt it, so you cant say he wrote. 2nd of all if he was the mastermind, then how did he find out about the insurance policy? im not an expert on the situation, but he had to find out from her. 2nd him writing a letter saying she isnt very smart and how he was gonna trick her doesnt mean he came up with the original idea to do the killing. people get screwed over by their "partners" all the time.

and like 2tear said. world is a safer place without her.

She was essentially in seclusion in prison. Society would have been just as safe if she got life without possibility of parole.

[GEORGIAfan]

She was essentially in seclusion in prison. Society would have been just as safe if she got life without possibility of parole.

again. i said earlier that i wouldnt be against her getting life.

[pencilpusher. just because]

do we have proof that he wrote it? like undeniable fact that it was not forged? i doubt it, so you cant say he wrote. 2nd of all if he was the mastermind, then how did he find out about the insurance policy? im not an expert on the situation, but he had to find out from her. 2nd him writing a letter saying she isnt very smart and how he was gonna trick her doesnt mean he came up with the original idea to do the killing. people get screwed over by their "partners" all the time.

and like 2tear said. world is a safer place without her.

You ask what proof I have, what proof do you have otherwise?What is " undeniable " fact?

How did he find out about the insurance policy? I dunno...asked? Of course he found out from her She had an IQ in the 70's. couldn't have been that hard to work it into a conversation. He could have been looking for just the right situation, and he found it there.

yea, the world may be safer, as it would have been without him, but the courts obviously thought the guy that shot someone with a shotgun while they slept was okay to keep around. He had to do himself in.

I have no hard feelings about the execution because she was a woman. Women can be some evil coniving animals just like men and deserve to die just as men do. But I have seen cases far more horrific and airtight in guilt than this one and no one got death. When the guys who pulled the triggers got life, she shuld have never gotten death. Because I don't even care if Halle Berry asks you to murder someone for her, if you do it. the murder is still on you. All the talk in the world should not convince you to kill someone.

[GEORGIAfan]

we could go back and forth, but does it really matter?

i still think she came up with the main idea. maybe she didnt come up with the full plan, but she got it started.

[pencilpusher. just because]

we could go back and forth, but does it really matter?

i still think she came up with the main idea. maybe she didnt come up with the full plan, but she got it started.

I agree its no use going back and forth. but no one will ever convince me that a 41 year old woman with an IQ in the 70's could " mastermind" anything at all. Like I said, living right here around where it all happened, been hearing about it for years. from what I have seen and heard few around here seem to think she deserved the death penalty while those killers got life.

[kicker]

I agree its no use going back and forth. but no one will ever convince me that a 41 year old woman with an IQ in the 70's could " mastermind" anything at all. Like I said, living right here around where it all happened, been hearing about it for years. from what I have seen and heard few around here seem to think she deserved the death penalty while those killers got life.

Who cares who the "mastermind" was? The point is that she had her family killed for money. I don't care if her IQ was 7. She deserves to die for that.

[pencilpusher. just because]

Who cares who the "mastermind" was? The point is that she had her family killed for money. I don't care if her IQ was 7. She deserves to die for that.

I'm thinking you completely missed my point. I don't say she does not deservee the Death penalty. But if the guys who actually pulled the trigger didn't get it, it's ridiculous. that's like the law saying you are not responsible for your own actions.

" th devil made me do it" defense.