VA set to execute woman for 1st time in 98 years

[Amby 490]

(Sept. 11) -- Barring intervention from the governor or Supreme Court, the state of Virginia plans to execute a woman later this month for the first time in nearly a century.

Teresa Lewis, a 41-year-old grandmother with such a low IQ that she's classified as borderline mentally retarded, is set to die by lethal injection on Sept. 23. She'll be the state's first female prisoner put to death in 98 years.

Lewis pleaded guilty to hiring two men to murder her husband and stepson in their trailer in Virginia's rural Pittsylvania county in 2002, in order to collect life insurance money. She took cash from her husband Julian Lewis' wallet as he lay dying from gunshot wounds and waited 45 minutes to call police, The Virginian-Pilot newspaper reported. But when sheriff's deputies arrived, Julian was still alive and told them: "My wife knows who done this do me," ABC News reported. The man died soon after.

The two triggermen, one of whom Teresa Lewis was having an affair, got life in prison. But a judge deemed Lewis the crime's mastermind and called her "the head of this serpent," and sentenced her to death, according to Time magazine.

If Lewis' sentence is carried out, it would be the 12th execution of a woman in the U.S. since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.

The woman's lawyers are arguing for clemency, saying that essentially, she's too dumb to execute. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that executing a mentally retarded criminal violates the Constitution's 8th Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. But Virginia doesn't consider someone mentally retarded unless they score significantly lower than average on IQ tests, and also struggle to function in society.

Lewis' IQ has been measured as low as 70, but the Virginia Supreme Court and a federal appeals court have both rejected the notion that she can't function normally in society.

Her plight has been taken up by Christian groups and a longtime prison chaplain, the Rev. Lynn Litchfield, who befriended Lewis behind bars.

"It is my sincere belief that Teresa Lewis's life has merit to the Commonwealth of Virginia," Litchfield wrote in a letter to the governor last month, excerpted by the Virginian-Pilot. "She can be a positive force for good within the prison system helping other incarcerated women."

Litchfield and other advocates have set up a website, SaveTeresaLewis.org, listing reasons why Lewis' life should be spared. They cite her apparently strong Christian faith, and how she's said to calm fellow prisoners by singing country gospel songs that echo across their prison cells.

http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/teresa-lewis-to-be-executed-in-virginia/19629630?test=latestnews

[Peikko 1,575]

Interesting article. It raises all kinds of questions and is thought provoking.

[Ban Hammer 13,469]

interesting how some suddenly find jesus on death row and how others think that makes a difference.

[웃 910]

Teresa Lewis, a 41-year-old grandmother with such a low IQ that she's classified as borderline mentally retarded

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The woman's lawyers are arguing for clemency, saying that essentially, she's too dumb to execute.

[DEDixon 39]

Great!

[Sofiyya 1,687]

Barbarism, and no Muslims involved.

[Heracles 417]

Barbarism, and no Muslims involved.

How can you say that with a straight face, considering what is practiced as justice in the middle east.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

How can you say that with a straight face, considering what is practiced as justice in the middle east.

Because I'm Arab, lived there for decades and know lots more about the ME than the one-dimensional place you imagine it to be.

[Heracles 417]

Because I'm Arab, lived there for decades and know lots more about the ME than the one-dimensional place you imagine it to be.

How many stories and pictures of hangings and cruel punishment do I have to post this time before you even acknowledge it? Rest assured, you will dodge it and claim that too is a debate against Islam or Arabs.

Do the various reports from numerous internationally recognized organizations count? Or just your utter bullcrap opinion.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

How many stories and pictures of hangings and cruel punishment do I have to post this time before you even acknowledge it? Rest assured, you will dodge it and claim that too is a debate against Islam or Arabs.

Do the various reports from numerous internationally recognized organizations count? Or just your utter bullcrap opinion.

It's a yawn because you do the exact same thing to the US; find stories about bad people doing bad things and attribute their behavior to their race or class, thus trashing everyone of their race and class. You're just doing the same thing to Muslims that you do to Hiapanics and Blacks. Apparently, it's all you know how to do.

I know that I could do the same thing and make Whites, Christians or Australians look like a bunch of knuckle dragging creatons by choosing only the bad things about them online. Yet, as I said before, you post from the net, I lived in the ME. It's where my family is from. It's not the freak show you think it is.

Edited September 11, 2010 by Sofiyya

[peejay 327]

Teresa Lewis, a 41-year-old grandmother with such a low IQ that she's classified as borderline mentally retarded, is set to die by lethal injection on Sept. 23.

Lewis pleaded guilty to hiring two men to murder her husband and stepson in their trailer in Virginia's rural Pittsylvania county in 2002, in order to collect life insurance money.

She may be an idiot, but she ain't stupid. She knows how to kill for money.

She may be a woman, but some people just deserve killing. What you sow is what you reap.

[Heracles 417]

It's a yawn because you do the exact same thing to the US; find stories about bad people doing bad things and attribute their behavior to their race or class, thus trashing everyone of their race and class. You're just doing the same thing to Muslims that you do to Hiapanics and Blacks. Apparently, it's all you know how to do.

I know that I could do the same thing and make Whites, Christians or Australians look like a bunch of knuckle dragging creatons by choosing only the bad things about them online. Yet, as I said before, you post from the net, I lived in the ME. It's where my family is from. It's not the freak show you think it is.

Shining a spotlight on the actions of various people who happen to be in the #1 spot regarding something negative, hardly amounts to picking on people. It's about time you and certain others on here realize that, instead of playing this what do you have against [insert group] bs.

You are from the region and follow the religion, so naturally you are going to be biased. It's the same deal with a certain poster [no names] who for years was defensive with anything regarding Hispanic and illegals, only to find out years later, they are Mexican. It's a no-brainer that they are going to defend them at any cost.

You find me where I have "trashed" people for no reason and because of their "race" and "class"? One of the biggest elitist on here is you. Yet for someone so highly educated, you do not seem to have a problem with homicide.

[Ggreen 12]

Where is Benedict pope xvi when we need him most?

[Sofiyya 1,687]

Shining a spotlight on the actions of various people who happen to be in the #1 spot regarding something negative, hardly amounts to picking on people. It's about time you and certain others on here realize that, instead of playing this what do you have against [insert group] bs.

You are from the region and follow the religion, so naturally you are going to be biased. It's the same deal with a certain poster [no names] who for years was defensive with anything regarding Hispanic and illegals, only to find out years later, they are Mexican. It's a no-brainer that they are going to defend them at any cost.

You find me where I have "trashed" people for no reason and because of their "race" and "class"? One of the biggest elitist on here is you. Yet for someone so highly educated, you do not seem to have a problem with homicide.

Then, it must logically follow that you're not from the region and don't follow the religion, so you're going to be biased. It's a no brainer that you are hyperbolic, inaccurate and disproportionately obsessed about something you're clueless about.

I'm more likely to be killed by terrorists than you are, since I hang out with Muslims on several continents each year while you leisure in the burbs. If I'm not losing my mind over it, why are you?

Edited September 12, 2010 by Sofiyya

[Heracles 417]

Where is Benedict pope xvi when we need him most?

You mean like this?

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/holy-post/archive/2009/10/22/toronto-imam-calls-for-destruction-of-christians-jews.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undercover_Mosque