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The Cruel and Unusual Punishment of Teresa Lewis
The case of the first woman to be executed in Virginia for a century highlights America's death row shame
On 23 September, 40-year-old Teresa Lewis will become the first woman to be executed in the state of Virginia for almost a century. She'll also be the first woman put to death in the US since 2005. Considering that, in the intervening five years, around 220 men will have been executed, it puts it into perspective: executing women is unusual. Of more than 1,200 executions carried out since the US supreme court reinstated capital punishment in 1976, only 11 were of women. And each time that happens, it's stunningly bad PR for an increasingly unpopular facet of the American justice system.
The facts of the Lewis case are fairly gruesome. In 2002, she was convicted of persuading two men to kill her husband and stepson to collect a $250,000 life insurance policy. In return, she promised them a portion of the money, and sex with her and her 16-year-old daughter.
Lewis pleaded guilty. So you might think that this is a cut-and-dried death penalty case. But I don't think so, and if you look at the facts, and consider the way the death penalty is administered in the US generally, it leaves more than a bad taste.
A forensic psychiatrist testified that Lewis has an IQ of 72, placing her in the "borderline range of intellectual functioning". Her co-accused, Rodney Fuller and Matthew Shallenberger - the two gunmen who actually did the killing - were sentenced to life imprisonment (Shallenberger actually committed suicide a few years later). And although the judge acknowledged that Lewis had led police to the men, he described what she had done as "horrible and inhumane", and determining she had masterminded the whole thing, sentenced her to death.
At appeal, her new lawyers argued her trial attorneys should have presented hundreds of pages of medical records that showed her dependency on prescription drugs and that she was too easily led by other people to have plotted the murders. A psychiatrist specializing in addiction testified that Lewis's mental state before, during and immediately after the killings was "significantly impaired" as a result of developmental disabilities, borderline intellectual function and that dependence on drugs.
The defence then produced vital evidence - a letter from Shallenberger admitting it was he, not Lewis, who planned the murder. "The only reason I had sex with the mother was," he wrote, "to get her to fall in love with me so she would give me the insurance money."
But the appeal court upheld the sentence.
In the eight years Lewis has been on death row, she is said to have been a model prisoner. But on death row, good behavior counts for nothing. In a month's time, she will become the first woman executed in Virginia since 1912.
Executing men has become routine - most of the time, the deaths warrant only a small mention in the local newspaper. But Lewis's execution will, it is to be hoped, once again draw worldwide attention to the fact that the United States is on the roll call of countries with the less-than-salubrious distinction of carrying out the highest number of executions, along with China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Congo, Egypt and Iraq - states with which the US perhaps ought to feel a little uneasy being compared.
And later this year, there's a good chance that a British passport holder, 51-year-old Linda Carty, will join Lewis. I have written about Carty before: her trial was seriously flawed, and if, like Lewis, she is also given a 2010 execution date, it will draw even more attention to the US's dire record on capital punishment.
Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, told me that because of juries' reluctance to dish out death sentences these days, it's fair to assume that if Teresa Lewis was in court today, she probably wouldn't be sentenced to die. "Particularly in Virginia," he said. "There was just one death sentence in that state last year, and to say Lewis is the worst of the worst is a stretch. Given the mitigating evidence and the fact the shooters got life sentences, it strikes you as unfair in the way it played out."
There's not much chance that Virginia governor Bob McDonnell will commute Lewis's sentence to life. Considering McDonnell is pro-life, opposes same-sex marriage and holds an A-rating from the National Rifle Association for his gun rights advocacy, you can guess where he stands on the death penalty.
In the past few years, serial killer Andre Crawford was spared the death penalty for the murders and rapes of 11 women on Chicago's south side - he got life in prison. In Virginia, Haiyang Zhu, a former Virginia Tech student who murdered and beheaded one of his fellow students, got life in prison.
If you agree with the death penalty, you must also agree that the ultimate punishment should be meted out fairly. And the simple fact is, it isn't.
59 Comments so far
Show AllAll killing is wrong. Period.
Generally, I would agree with you. However, where do you draw the line on what is acceptable as far as the number of murders a single individual can commit.
We have had serial killers who have killed dozens of people, and most received the death penalty as a result.
These people however were considered by society to be the worst of the worst. Why aren't "people" such as George W. Bu$h, Dick Cheney, Henry Kissenger, et al cosidered mass murderers? By comparison, they make Manson, Bundy, Green River Killer, Son of Sam, etc. seem like ice cream vendors. These bastards have murdered and tortured millions, yet they are heralded as leaders.
It's all relaive folks. if we as a society can accept Bu$h as a past leader yet condmen a woman such as the one described in the article, we are one sick fucking society,
Bush is no different than Charles Manson. Same for Obama.
Manson, Bundy, Green River Killer, Son of Sam, etc... are examples of serial murders who could have been caught earlier and made to reform to prevent them from committing as many murders each. Bush, Cheney, Kissenger, etc... on the other hand are the result of the same system that legalizes indirect murder from upper class citizens and politicians who will use the military at their murdering disposal. If Teresa Lewis were a Limbaughian Republican and her husband was anything but politically that, then her crime would have been overlooked. Such is the result of our current system that must be demolished and rebuilt for reform, fairness, and equality for all.
Perhaps someone here can provide a link to a petition to the VA governor or whomever, objecting to this embarrassing situation. It's not only about the poor simple woman but also about another injustice (about to be) perpetrated in our name. The list of such is endless, and I, for one, am heartily sick of it.
Amerika is cruel,unusual, and barbaric.
But speaking of deadly crimes, our Nazi Congress and White House (now occupied by the ultimate Uncle Tom corporate oreo) are responsible for more murders (Iraq/Afghanistan war crimes) than any government presently on earth. They are the ultimate capitalist corporate mafia directing the Pentagon SS troopers to kill whoever stands in the way of globalized corporate agendas.
Actually the mafia is a rather harmless organization when compared to the killing done by Obomber and Congress. Etc.
The U.S. is truly a sick society. From our "support the troops" (while they engage in the killing of millions in the M.E. who just want to be left alone) mantra, to the death penalty reverence of "pro-lifers".
Watch on TV as another mass-murderer shoots up a school or workplace. And then those NRA nuts want to protect us by letting everyone carry guns 24/7.
Each year the Pentagon budget goes up without question, while services to the poor are cut.
They used to give discounts to students at movie theatres, now they only discount the military. It shows our priorities.
Cities and GDP must constantly grow, while the environment around us dies.
Somehow this culture of death must end.
Bring America Back !!!!.....!!!...It is cruel and unusual for the Brits at the
UK Guardian to keep reminding us how sick we are, and have been . Don't forget, Brits, Unc Tony Blair is in plenty of videos and newsreels holding hands with
King George the W, right in the middle of our torture culture. Most Yanks know our Govt and Judicial System is busted, and the state of Virginia sits too close to the Fed Enclave to independently learn about cruel and unusual.
****Ever been to Arlington National Cemetery on the Va side of the Potomac ?
Lots and lots of lessons there to be learned.
" ... China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Congo, Egypt and Iraq - states with which the US perhaps ought to feel a little uneasy being compared."
Given the amount of mayhem and murder being wreaked around the globe by the USA, perhaps it's the other countries who ought to feel uneasy.
Bring America Back !!!!
***So when it comes to Iran wanting to stone that poor
woman, we better be sure Hannafords work is not distributed
to Tehran, or to Machmud.
***Also , this heavily reminds me of a widespread held opinion that Islamic detainees can be tried in US civil courts, even though the Gitmo kangaroo commissions had them waterboarded a couple hundred times each, before they then claimed to be masterminds of 9/11 .
***Whatever happened to an age old legal tradition that US courts must not admit any evidence obtained by inducement, stress, or unreasonable force ??
Lets just forget all our fair trial prerequisites when it comes to sensationalism, or where Uncle Sammys Faux Patriotism is involved.
Seems that a 75 IQ should've made Ms Lewis not competent
to stand trial for this murder. But then, for a people who think a few hundred waterboardings never hurt anybody, this is but extension of the same mental (NON) gymnastics.
This case might also reopen the debate on murdering in general. A man would have no trouble killing his wife and making excuses even if that meant getting into trouble. The same cannot be said the other way around. Now I don't endorse anyone killing his or her spouse. For that matter, I also do not endorse covert murders by anyone, man or woman. But given that even in Western countries women get looked at oddly for doing even a harmless act against their husbands, it should be no surprise that the idea of going covert on murdering is done by women more than men, percentage-wise that is. Getting further into this case, what will not be discussed are the economic conditions of this women and what got her to be that desperate. Was she out of work and for how long? Was she seriously underpaid and for how long? Any of this and more could have altered her psychology to where she would do the unthinkable. Unfortunately, just like 1988, the social issue death row trumps economic injustice.
That comment is really off the mark. The author of the article made it clear the woman is mentally retarded (I'm using the term correctly); with an IQ of 72, she's barely functional, easy to fool and manipulate.
Her economic status is irrelevant here. She didn't "do the unthinkable".
It's a sad society that executes mentally impaired people. That's enough to make the execution outrageous. The infuriating thing is that the murderers, who admitted to lining up for the insurance money, got life sentences.
Was a woman with an IQ of 70 clever enough to fool them into unwitting compliance? Wouldthat exonerate them? Or - here's what I think - the predators saw an easy mark, one who would stick to her story, the one they impressed on her, out of misplaced loyalty, or gawd-knows-what promises they knew they'd never have to keep.
I do question the IQ system itself. While an IQ of 70 would indicate serious deficiency on a lot of functions, I still say it's way off. Anyone whose IQ was 70 should normally be unable to think of hiring professional hitmen to kill a spouse and a stepchild or desperately collect 250k on life insurance. This is why I blame this economic system.
"Anyone whose IQ was 70 should normally be unable to think of hiring professional..."
This is why I think it wasn't her idea, but the predators'. She's a gullible dupe.
Not everything is the fault of the economic system. Sociopaths and those with Antisocial Personality Disorder will behave independent of whatever socio-economic system is in place.
If Gov. McDonnell of Virginia is "Pro-Life", then he should of course, commute the sentence. Life is life, no matter if it is in utero or already born. What is wrong with these people??
religion is what's wrong with those people
No, the fault lies not in their stars(religion) but in their character. Religion is one distinguishing quality, but so is almost anything you can name - skin colour, fashion choices, gender preferences, gender, hair colour, age, ethnic heritage, wealth.
Read "The Sneetches" by Dr. Seuss.
It is in the character of that species of reptilian to think, speak, and act the way it does. Something is wrong or missing in their brains. I say that because they are always so predictable, within a narrow easily identifiable range, always taking the same form. It has to be a genetic/developmental thing. You'll notice, those times you try, that they can't be reasoned with, either; that's because their problem is not based on reason. The "reasoning" you hear is mere rationalization for an ingrained brain dysfunction. You'll find a high proportion of those characteristics among sociopaths and antisocials.
It's bad enough when the developmentally defective are among the criminal class, but it's a real problem when they occupy finance, business, and politics.
"Virginia governor Bob McDonnell ... is pro-life, ... you can guess where he stands on the death penalty."
This is a nice example of how people allow themselves to be co-opted by their enemies' terms of reference. We should resist these tendences wherever we can. In this case, we should insist on calling such people what they are -- fetus-worshippers.
If anyone asks about this term, point out that these people's policies are clearly intended to maximize the number of fetuses in existence. Once you cease to be a fetus -- i.e. are born -- your welfare ceases to be of concern to them.
I've settled on "pro-compulsory childbirth", myself.
I disagree with you, Kitty Lady Oregon. A fetus is not a person until it's born and outside the mother's womb.
But her statement was that "life is life". Personhood is one concept and life is another. Are you so defensive and uncertain of your position that you must argue against statements not made?
Just another example of how the U.S. is a mean country.
I believe the word is criminal fascist country.. Might add chicken hearted.
Here here!
People with development disabilities have a long history of social injustice in this country. Many people have been institutionalised with that range of intellectual function for no other reason than thier impairment. They have been the subjects of radioactive and medical experiments. It goes without saying exploitation is the norm and without social support this is not an unexpected consequence. This is a commentary on society and it smells pretty bad.
A society that wishes to BECOME civilized does NOT solve the heinous crime problem by putting its perpetrators to death.
When profit becomes the main goal of a nation then cruel and unusual punishment is not far behind. America is charging children as adults and incarcerating them unjustly, the mentally ill have been removed from mental medical- institutions into prison institutions,and developmentally delayed and mentally ill Americans are sent to death row. Some have been innocent but did not have the ability to understand the trial proceedings. Fundamentalist believe in a God of wrath and punishment.Capitalism believes in making as much capital as possible. Privatizing prisons is perfect for profit and cruel and unusual punishment of people who are mentally impaired or too poor to pay a good lawyer. The death penalty we are told is needed as a deterrent against murder. But murder is an irrational act therefore murderers do not think rationally and the death penalty is useless as a deterrent. The gov. uses killing as a way to teach that killing is wrong.
Iowa stopped using the death penalty a long time ago. I'd like to think they were inspired by reason but it was the cost of appeals, mostly. You're absolutely right about the wrath of god stuff; we are all little gods, afterall. The Bible tells us so. It must be true.
I understand what you're saying about profit preceeding cruel and unusual punishment but what exactly is the profit motive for executing someone? Seems like that would hurt, not help, the bottom line.
According to the Book "The Profiler".
Police often ignore obvious phsychopathic serial killer suspects if they already have a murder pinned on someonelse.
And prosecutors only have to prosecute "when it is in the states interest"
so often prosecutors decline to prosecute an obvious physchopathic serial murderer if the case is chancey.
Too many innocents have been executed to allow executions (which predate for profit prisons).
" "The only reason I had sex with the mother was," he wrote, "to get her to fall in love with me so she would give me the insurance money.""
Death penalty has become too expensive on the taxpayers so i say let's get it off the books. Just lock them up and throw away the key.
"Just lock them up and throw away the key."
While slightly better than the death penalty, please understand that this too costs the taxpayers dearly. A better solution would be reforming the prisoners as much as possible before leaving them in limbo. Correcting the economic system which currently makes it too easy to put Ms Lewis in the fate she's currently in would also help.
Now tell us, which of the two options costs less:
A. Throwing away the key and letting the prisoners rot for the rest of their life (they're usually in prison for at least 20 years or more).
B. Reforming the prisoners for 5-10 years depending upon the severity of the crime.
Let's drop the PC crap and be honest. Prison is supposed to punish not reform. Some people cannot be reformed. If someone goes out and commits premeditated murder they should be locked up for the rest of their lives.
I guess medicine is not advanced enough to wipe their memories and make them wanna do volunteer work for the rest of their lives, but that would be my choice.
That being said, i think there's way too many people in jail for victimless crimes, posession and use of drugs being one of them.
"If someone goes out and commits premeditated murder they should be locked up for the rest of their lives."
Does this include George Bush, Dick Cheney and every soldier who has murdered in war?
Looks like we have some exception, yeah?
"Does this include George Bush, Dick Cheney and every soldier who has murdered in war"
What exact murders have any of these guys comitted?
A million Iraqis.
Really? Before or after you count all the ones who died of old age?
I don't blame you for your attitude on this matter. I understand that prisons were designed to punish wrongdoers but that does not address the flaws of the prison system let alone the economic system that makes desperadoes out of anyone. When a system such as this one produces people who are miseducated and vulnerable into doing what they wouldn't do in their right frame of mind, then what happens when too many thrown behind bars crowd up the slammers? Add that to your excellent point on jailing people for harmless crimes such as drug use and possession and the costs of imprisonment skyrocket.
Now, your point about medicine not being advanced enough to wipe out people's memories and make them do volunteer work might be workable but I doubt it. The reason is that no two violent criminals are the same. That said, the treatment may work differently. It would cost more money and efforts to develop a range of medicines to make sure that the correct one was given. Even then, there is no guarantee that it will work. The way modern medicine is manufactured is itself questionable thanks to the "free" markets making it nearly impossible to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for defective manufacturing. But assuming that everything is manufactured correctly, if inadequate information about the criminal is presented, the wrong treatment could backfire.
On the other hand, reform that requires less medication can be adjusted depending upon the nature of the criminal. Giving advice and convincing criminals to think differently can help. Understanding how they got to where their thinking is today also makes people more determined to fight a corrupt system that made even someone with a low IQ desperate enough to do anything including killing for money just to survive this dog eat dog system.
They already use drug therapy to control sex offenders - with limited success. The offender has to co-operate by taking the drug regularly or reporting in to get another shot/implant. Castration has also been used.
Prisons have had two other names, depending on the prevailing social theory of the day: Penitentiary - in which the prisoner was to think about what he'd done, feel sorry, and be punished; and Reformatory - which was to be set up to reform the prisoner, teach him/her how to behave as a respectable citizen - referred to as "Correctional Institution"; I have yet to see how prison corrects anyone's behaviour or beliefs.
You can see for yourself how little success was to be had with either approach. How do you know a prisoner, who desperately wants to get out of prison, is truthful when he claims to be reformed or rehabilitated? When he claims to have found Jesus? and does finding Jesus automatically make a good person out of a killer?
Again the Lewis case was not based on economic straits - it was pure opportunistic greed, and I believe that she was duped into it. The wrong person is taking the fall.
When is George Bush and Dick Cheney going on trail for war crimes, including mass murder and treason. Bringing the nation to war on a known lie is treason.
Answer: When we can get an administration that will make that possible.
Heads Up. Gender in this article is a red herring.
QUOTE:
== the judge acknowledged that Lewis had led police to the men, he described what she had done as "horrible and inhumane", and determining she had masterminded the whole thing, sentenced her to death. ==
Excuse me but the IQ of 72 obviates a mastermind. And it is ALWAYS COMPULSORY to remember that any score such as this has a SEM, a standard error of measurement. 72 is being selected as representative of a RANGE.
Across my psychological career I measured the intelligence of literally thousands of adults. The psychiatrists with whom I worked for 30 years, forensic or otherwise, were rarely trained to administer tests of intelligence, and particularly at the zone three standard deviations below average.
At that level I used a sensitive instrument called the ==Leiter Performance Test==, more frequently seen in mental facilities for warehousing unloved persons with serious developmental disability.
Nota Bene everyone on Common Dreams: the state of Virginia has a body known as the Virginia Academy of Clinical Psychologists, a division of the Virginia Psychological Association.
The American Civil Liberties Union should intercede with Virginia governor Bob McDonnell and insist that the condemned, Teresa Lewis, receive - through the above state organizations - the FULLEST investigation of "intelligence" and the roles it played in the tragic crime with which she was involved. To achieve this would probably require a stay of execution.
IF this humanitarian request is refused; if 40 year old Teresa Lewis is executed next 23 September without benefit of this opportunity - FOR LIVING IN VIRGINIA WITH AN IQ AT THE MORON LEVEL - the national social consequences will not be pleasant. You read it here.
Thank you for that.
I hope the appropriate agencies, knowing what you know, take up the gauntlet.
Monday: I have discovered that Amnesty International USA is running an on-line letter campaign to petition Gov. McDonnell to commute the death sentence of Teresa Lewis to =life in prison=. Their reasons are the same as mine, posted above. They offer boiler print text, but I am going to submit my own letter.
Trylon
The crusty old judge probably gave her the death penalty because she refused to have a night of sex with him in exchange for life in prison.
This is still the south, remember. Do you doubt corruption in the system?
What is the purpose of the author's mention of a serial rapist/murderer and the Virginia tech student? Is he suggesting that people who committed such horrendous crimes should be given life in prison instead of the death penalty?
Why should violent rapists and murderers be given life in prison instead? Let's recognize the severity of their crimes.
So, you call yourself a Pennsylvania progressive but support the barbaric death penalty?
"Considering McDonnell is pro-life, opposes same-sex marriage and holds an A-rating from the National Rifle Association for his gun rights advocacy, you can guess where he stands on the death penalty."
The pasty white guy (Virginia governor Bob McDonnell) is there to defend the "right to bear arms" and "deter" people from killing each other by killing a few himself. We see through it all a basic determination to rule by fear. The USA likes to consider itself "exceptional" when I see clear connections with the Vandals, Visigoths, or Vlad the Impaler, son of The Dragon (Dracul)...
wikipedia: Impalement was Vlad's preferred method of torture and execution. His method of torture was a horse attached to each of the victim's legs as a sharpened stake was gradually forced into the body. Death by impalement was slow and agonizing. Victims sometimes endured for hours or even days. Vlad often had the stakes arranged in various geometric patterns. The most common pattern was a ring of concentric circles in the outskirts of a city that constituted his target. The height of the spear indicated the rank of the victim. The corpses were often left decaying for months.
One of the most famous woodcuts of the period shows Vlad feasting in a forest of stakes and their grisly burdens outside Braşov, while a nearby executioner cuts apart other victims. This place was famously known as the Forest of the Impaled. In this forest is a story of Vlad's "sense of humor": a servant was holding his nose and Vlad said to him while feasting, "Why do you do that?" The servant replied, "I cannot stand the stench." Vlad immediately ordered him impaled on the highest stake and said, "Then you shall live up there, where the stench cannot reach you."
I worked with mentally ill legal offenders and legal offenders with low IQs. Just like every other case the prosecution hypes, demonizes, and lies. We had one guy with a low IQ who had just been a follower in a robbery(because he wanted friends) who disappeared from the state psychiatric facility during the afternoon when he was not on lock down. I had gone on many walks with him over a period of three months and he was as harmless as a kitten. The police went on the news and declared him extremely dangerous and probably armed. I laughed. I then called the police and told them my theory about the big escape, he got on the bus that stops at the hospital and went to his mother's house. I then asked them to not go to the house with a swat team and make a big deal out of it which would scare both the young man and his mother. They found him at his mother's house having dinner. We need more mental health evaluations and more highly trained mental health practitioners to assist not only the mentally ill, but the court system in making decisions that actually facilitate justice. Public defender agencies are not funded to pay for them nor do they know how to use them to get justice for their clients.
Many mentally ill people and low functioning people, especially poor ones, get no treatment. The first intervention is a run in with the law, resulting in prison. A more caring and supportive mental health system, starting with childhood, would keep many out of trouble. But I doubt that is a social priority, in this country in which the "prison industrial complex" creates wealth for some and jobs for many.
Joe