Curious where the NYSpeed opinions fall on this one.
The death row inmate pleaded guilty in the 2002 slayings of her husband and stepson in their rural home near Danville, Virginia, about 145 miles from Richmond. Two male co-conspirators – the triggermen – were given life in prison without parole.
…
Lewis and her lawyers argued to the governor that she has an IQ that is borderline mentally retarded and that she was manipulated into committing the crimes by a dominant male co-defendant. She pleaded guilty to her participation in the murders but now regrets her actions.
Lewis admitted to police that she concocted the plot to kill her husband, Julian Lewis, and his son, C.J. Lewis
No questions asked.
Edit: I LOL’ed
“She was exactly what I was looking for,” he wrote. “Some ugly bitch who married her husband for the money and I knew I could get to fall head over heels for me.”
That’s tough. She plead guilty though. Even a mentally retarded person would know that if they were being accused of something that wrong, that they should deny it. Either she gets the chair or spends life behind bars. If I were her, I’d rather get the injection anyways.
Hmm…If I lived in that state id say die, just from a cost perspective. But since I don’t, I’ll say live. The retard thing plus her not actually doing it plus pleading guilty should at least spare her life.
If she was mentally incapable of standing trial her defense attorneys should have argued that point better. It was pre-meditated murder 2…“She helped plan an earlier plot to kill her husband that failed.”
I don’t care about the mental competency aspect of this case. I somehow don’t feel she should get the death penalty for hiring someone else to do the actual deed…
But don’t get me wrong…we should cook more inmates sooner…
It’s common legal practice that in murder for hire the person doing the hiring gets the largest sentence because they are the most responsible for the crime. Take away the hired guy and she just hires a different gun. Take her away and the crime doesn’t happen.
Thats a little extreme but I get what you’re saying. They cost society such a ridiculous amount and really add no value. When they’re growing up each one gets as many school resources as 10 smart kids that might actually produce something. Then most of them require a lot of extra medical care for their entire lives. If anything we need a revamp, as soon as they figure out that they’re retarded they shift tracks, teach them a trade that they can do, making wallets or something, and preferably to not shit their pants, and let them go to it.