Teresa Lewis
Encyclopedia
Teresa Wilson Bean Lewis (April 26, 1969 – September 23, 2010) was an American
who was the only woman on death row
in Virginia
prior to her execution
. She was sentenced to death by lethal injection
for using sex and money to arrange for the murder
s of her husband and stepson in October 2002. Lewis sought to profit from a $250,000 life insurance policy that her stepson had taken out as a U.S. Army reservist
in anticipation of his deployment to Iraq
.
In September 2010, Lewis became the first female inmate to die by lethal injection in the state of Virginia. The case attracted debate over capital punishment
because of Lewis' gender and questions over her mental capacity. Novelist John Grisham
joined the opposition against Lewis' execution, noting that she had not carried out the actual killings herself. The state had last executed a woman in 1912.
in Danville, Virginia
, where her parents both worked in a textile mill. Teresa sang in a church during her youth. She dropped out of school and left home at age 16 to marry a man she met at church. Though the couple had a daughter, Christie Lynn Bean, the marriage soon ended in divorce. Teresa then turned to alcohol and painkillers. Her mother-in-law, Marie Bean, described Teresa as "not right".
After migrating between dozens of low-paying jobs, Teresa Wilson Bean found work in the spring of 2000 at the Dan River textile mill, where she met supervisor Julian Clifton Lewis, Jr. He was a recent widower with three children, Jason, Charles, and Kathy. Teresa moved into Julian's home in June 2000 and the two were soon married. In December 2001, Julian's older son Jason Clifton Lewis was killed in a car accident, leaving behind $200,000 from a life insurance
policy. Julian used the money to buy a mobile home on five acres of land in Pittsylvania County, Virginia
.
In August 2002, Julian's younger son Charles J. Lewis obtained a $250,000 policy because he had been assigned to a tour of duty in Iraq
as part of the United States Army Reserve
. Charles designated his father as the primary beneficiary and Teresa Lewis as the secondary beneficiary.
in Danville and began a sexual relationship with both of them. Shallenberger and Lamont were given $1,200 by Lewis to purchase firearms and ammunition to kill Julian Lewis and his son Charles for the insurance money. Their first attempt to kill Julian while on the road did not succeed.
In October 2002, Charles came home on a visit from Army training in Maryland
. During the night October of 30, Shallenberger and Lamont entered the Lewis' trailer through a back door that Teresa had left open. While she waited in the kitchen, Shallenberger shot Julian, who was sleeping, several times while Fuller shot Charles in his bedroom with a shotgun. Fuller shot Charles again twice after he found that his first three blasts did not kill him. Teresa waited 45 minutes before calling for help and took money out of her dying husband's wallet. She divided up $300 with Shallenberger and Fuller before they left the premises. However, sheriff's deputies arrived before Julian died to hear him say, "My wife knows who done this do me." She claimed the two had been killed by unidentified assailants in a home invasion
.
Teresa Lewis was soon caught attempting to use a forged check to withdraw $50,000 from her dead husband's account. About a week later, she confessed to law enforcement officers that she had offered money to have her husband killed. Prosecutors found that Lewis had been attempting to gather the assets of her late husband and stepson before they had even been buried.
During the murder trial, the judge deemed Lewis the mastermind of the crime and called her "the head of this serpent." Barbara G. Haskins, a court appointed, board-certified forensic psychiatrist, stated that "Cognitive testing showed a Full Scale IQ of 72. Verbal IQ was 70, and Performance IQ was 79." Dr. Haskins also stated that Teresa Lewis was and is able to make a plea agreement and enter pleas. Lewis' lawyer stated that “She’s not mentally retarded
, but she is very, very close to it." Lewis' daughter, Christie Lynn Bean, served five years because she knew about the plan but failed to report it.
. The Virginia Supreme Court rejected the argument that it was unfair to execute Lewis while the co-conspirators got life sentences, and it rejected Lewis' challenges to the constitutionality of Virginia's death penalty law. Lewis was placed on death row
at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women
in Virginia.
In November 2004, a private investigator met Shallenberger at Wallens Ridge State Prison
in Big Stone Gap, Virginia
on behalf of Lewis' appeals. Shallenberger wrote in a partially transcribed affidavit
: "Teresa was in love with me. She was very eager to please me. She was also not very smart." However, Shallenberger tore off and ate the parts of the document that he had signed. Shallenberger said, "What will happen will happen." and committed suicide
at the prison in 2006.
Over 7,300 appeals for clemency were reportedly sent to Virginia governor Bob McDonnell
. Lewis' supporters stated that "Lewis is deeply remorseful and has been a model prisoner, helping fellow female inmates cope with their circumstances." Her father, Melvin C. Wilson, Sr., testified how Lewis took care of her invalid mother before she died. Lewis herself stated that "I just want the governor to know that I am so sorry, deeply from my heart. And if I could take it back, I would, in a minute ... I just wish I could take it back. And I'm sorry for all the people that I've hurt in the process." On September 17, 2010, McDonnell decided to not stop Lewis' upcoming execution, stating: "Having carefully reviewed the petition for clemency, the judicial opinions in this case, and other relevant materials, I find no compelling reason to set aside the sentence that was imposed by the Circuit Court and affirmed by all reviewing courts."
Her attorneys filed motions for a writ of certiorari
with the U.S. Supreme Court
to stay the execution
, but were denied on September 21, 2010. Dissent
ing Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg
and Sonia Sotomayor
indicated that they would have granted a stay.
that consisted of two fried chicken breasts, sweet peas with butter, a Dr Pepper
and German chocolate cake for dessert. Lewis addressed stepdaughter Kathy Lewis Clifton, who came to witness her execution, to apologize for killing her father.
Lewis was executed on September 23, 2010, at 9 p.m. by lethal injection
, at Greensville Correctional Center
near Jarratt
. This made her the 12th woman to be executed in the United States since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. Lewis was the first woman to be executed in Virginia by lethal injection; the last woman to be executed in the state was Virginia Christian
, who died in the electric chair
in 1912. Lewis was also the first woman to be executed in the U.S. since Frances Newton
in 2005 in the state of Texas
, and the second woman to be executed since serial killer
Aileen Wuornos
in 2002 in the state of Florida
.
Lewis' execution started a debate in the U.S. and other parts of the world concerning capital punishment, and more specifically the application of death sentences on women in murder cases.
Richard Dieter, executive of the Death Penalty Information Centre, argues that "so few women are involved in more heinous murders that, when they are, they cause greater offence than if they had been men. Virginia's attorney general really pushed the fact that she had committed adultery with a co-defendant and that she was somehow dishonoured and should be looked down upon".
Thousands of supporters argued that her death sentence should have been commuted
to life imprisonment. Lewis' attorney James E. Rocap III said, "A good and decent person is about to lose her life because of a system that is broken ... it is grossly unfair to impose the death sentence on her while Shallenberger and Fuller received life." Her low IQ also became a matter of discussion, with supporters citing this as a reason she should not have been sentenced to death. Legal novelist John Grisham
echoed these sentiments and argued that evidence indicated Shallenberger, who had an IQ of 113, was the actual mastermind. Grisham quoted from an affidavit by co-conspirator Rodney Lamont Fuller: "As between Mrs. Lewis and Shallenberger, Shallenberger was definitely the one in charge of things, not Mrs. Lewis."
Iran
ian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad cited the case to denounce Western media coverage of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani
, a woman in Iran who had been sentenced to death by stoning
for adultery
. He claimed the media's "heavy propaganda" campaign was perpetrating a double standard
by not responding with similar outrage over Lewis' impending execution. Executive director Larry Cox of Amnesty International
, which opposes the death penalty under all circumstances, stated: "Proceeding with this execution would come dangerously close to violating the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits capital punishment for those with 'mental retardation' — a precedent established thanks to Atkins v. Virginia
."
In September 2010, the bronze grave markers of murder victims Julian Clifton Lewis, Jr. and Charles J. Lewis were reported stolen. The Schoolfield Cemetery had been experiencing a problem with stolen grave markers.
People of the United States
The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
who was the only woman on death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
prior to her execution
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
. She was sentenced to death by lethal injection
Lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
for using sex and money to arrange for the murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
s of her husband and stepson in October 2002. Lewis sought to profit from a $250,000 life insurance policy that her stepson had taken out as a U.S. Army reservist
United States Army Reserve
The United States Army Reserve is the federal reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the reserve components of the United States Army....
in anticipation of his deployment to Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
.
In September 2010, Lewis became the first female inmate to die by lethal injection in the state of Virginia. The case attracted debate over capital punishment
Capital punishment debate
The use of capital punishment, frequently known as the death penalty, is highly controversial.-Retribution:Supporters of the death penalty argued that death penalty is morally justified when applied in murder especially with aggravating elements such as multiple homicide, child murder, torture...
because of Lewis' gender and questions over her mental capacity. Novelist John Grisham
John Grisham
John Ray Grisham, Jr. is an American lawyer and author, best known for his popular legal thrillers.John Grisham graduated from Mississippi State University before attending the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981 and practiced criminal law for about a decade...
joined the opposition against Lewis' execution, noting that she had not carried out the actual killings herself. The state had last executed a woman in 1912.
Background
Teresa Wilson grew up in povertyPoverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
in Danville, Virginia
Danville, Virginia
Danville is an independent city in Virginia, United States, bounded by Pittsylvania County, Virginia and Caswell County, North Carolina. It was the last capital of the Confederate States of America. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Danville with Pittsylvania county for...
, where her parents both worked in a textile mill. Teresa sang in a church during her youth. She dropped out of school and left home at age 16 to marry a man she met at church. Though the couple had a daughter, Christie Lynn Bean, the marriage soon ended in divorce. Teresa then turned to alcohol and painkillers. Her mother-in-law, Marie Bean, described Teresa as "not right".
After migrating between dozens of low-paying jobs, Teresa Wilson Bean found work in the spring of 2000 at the Dan River textile mill, where she met supervisor Julian Clifton Lewis, Jr. He was a recent widower with three children, Jason, Charles, and Kathy. Teresa moved into Julian's home in June 2000 and the two were soon married. In December 2001, Julian's older son Jason Clifton Lewis was killed in a car accident, leaving behind $200,000 from a life insurance
Life insurance
Life insurance is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death of the insured person. Depending on the contract, other events such as terminal illness or critical illness may also trigger...
policy. Julian used the money to buy a mobile home on five acres of land in Pittsylvania County, Virginia
Pittsylvania County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 61,745 people, 24,684 households, and 18,216 families residing in the county. The population density was 64 people per square mile . There were 28,011 housing units at an average density of 29 per square mile...
.
In August 2002, Julian's younger son Charles J. Lewis obtained a $250,000 policy because he had been assigned to a tour of duty in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
as part of the United States Army Reserve
United States Army Reserve
The United States Army Reserve is the federal reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the reserve components of the United States Army....
. Charles designated his father as the primary beneficiary and Teresa Lewis as the secondary beneficiary.
Murders
In the fall of 2002, Teresa Lewis met 21-year-old Matthew Jessee Shallenberger and 19-year-old Rodney Lamont Fuller at a Wal-MartWal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
in Danville and began a sexual relationship with both of them. Shallenberger and Lamont were given $1,200 by Lewis to purchase firearms and ammunition to kill Julian Lewis and his son Charles for the insurance money. Their first attempt to kill Julian while on the road did not succeed.
In October 2002, Charles came home on a visit from Army training in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. During the night October of 30, Shallenberger and Lamont entered the Lewis' trailer through a back door that Teresa had left open. While she waited in the kitchen, Shallenberger shot Julian, who was sleeping, several times while Fuller shot Charles in his bedroom with a shotgun. Fuller shot Charles again twice after he found that his first three blasts did not kill him. Teresa waited 45 minutes before calling for help and took money out of her dying husband's wallet. She divided up $300 with Shallenberger and Fuller before they left the premises. However, sheriff's deputies arrived before Julian died to hear him say, "My wife knows who done this do me." She claimed the two had been killed by unidentified assailants in a home invasion
Home invasion
Home invasion is the act of illegally burgling or entering a private and occupied dwelling for the purpose of committing a crime Home invasion is the act of illegally burgling or entering a private and occupied dwelling for the purpose of committing a crime Home invasion is the act of illegally...
.
Teresa Lewis was soon caught attempting to use a forged check to withdraw $50,000 from her dead husband's account. About a week later, she confessed to law enforcement officers that she had offered money to have her husband killed. Prosecutors found that Lewis had been attempting to gather the assets of her late husband and stepson before they had even been buried.
During the murder trial, the judge deemed Lewis the mastermind of the crime and called her "the head of this serpent." Barbara G. Haskins, a court appointed, board-certified forensic psychiatrist, stated that "Cognitive testing showed a Full Scale IQ of 72. Verbal IQ was 70, and Performance IQ was 79." Dr. Haskins also stated that Teresa Lewis was and is able to make a plea agreement and enter pleas. Lewis' lawyer stated that “She’s not mentally retarded
Intellectual disability
Intellectual disability is a broad concept encompassing various intellectual deficits, including mental retardation , deficits too mild to properly qualify as MR, various specific conditions , and problems acquired later in life through acquired brain injuries or neurodegenerative diseases like...
, but she is very, very close to it." Lewis' daughter, Christie Lynn Bean, served five years because she knew about the plan but failed to report it.
Sentencing and appeals
Defense attorneys found evidence against Lewis overwhelming and advised her to avoid a jury trial by pleading guilty to the capital charges in the hope that the judge would show some leniency as Lewis had been cooperating with investigators. However, she was sentenced to death. Under Virginia law, multiple murders within a three-year period are subject to the death penalty. The two co-conspirators who actually did the shooting, Shallenberger and his former roommate and friend Fuller, were sentenced to life imprisonment at separate trials. Lewis was granted an automatic review by the Supreme Court of VirginiaSupreme Court of Virginia
The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears appeals from the trial-level city and county Circuit Courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrative law cases that go through the Court of Appeals of Virginia. It is one of...
. The Virginia Supreme Court rejected the argument that it was unfair to execute Lewis while the co-conspirators got life sentences, and it rejected Lewis' challenges to the constitutionality of Virginia's death penalty law. Lewis was placed on death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women
Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women
Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women is a prison operated by the Virginia Department of Corrections. It is located in an unincorporated area of Fluvanna County, Virginia, near the town of Troy, about northwest of Richmond...
in Virginia.
In November 2004, a private investigator met Shallenberger at Wallens Ridge State Prison
Wallens Ridge State Prison
Wallens Ridge State Prison is a supermax state prison located in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, housing approximately 700 inmates. Since opening in April 1999, it has been a part of the Virginia Department of Corrections, and is identical to the Red Onion State Prison near Pound. The prison was built for...
in Big Stone Gap, Virginia
Big Stone Gap, Virginia
Big Stone Gap is a town in Wise County, Virginia, United States. The population was 5,643 at the 2010 census.-History:The community was formerly known as "Meneral City" and "Three Forks." The "Big Stone Gap" refers to the valley which has been created on the Appalachia Straight, located between...
on behalf of Lewis' appeals. Shallenberger wrote in a partially transcribed affidavit
Affidavit
An affidavit is a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made by an affiant or deponent under an oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law. Such statement is witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public...
: "Teresa was in love with me. She was very eager to please me. She was also not very smart." However, Shallenberger tore off and ate the parts of the document that he had signed. Shallenberger said, "What will happen will happen." and committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
at the prison in 2006.
Over 7,300 appeals for clemency were reportedly sent to Virginia governor Bob McDonnell
Bob McDonnell
Robert Francis "Bob" McDonnell is an American politician who has been the 71st Governor of Virginia since January 2010. A former lieutenant colonel in the United States Army, McDonnell served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1993 to 2006 and served as Attorney General of Virginia from 2006...
. Lewis' supporters stated that "Lewis is deeply remorseful and has been a model prisoner, helping fellow female inmates cope with their circumstances." Her father, Melvin C. Wilson, Sr., testified how Lewis took care of her invalid mother before she died. Lewis herself stated that "I just want the governor to know that I am so sorry, deeply from my heart. And if I could take it back, I would, in a minute ... I just wish I could take it back. And I'm sorry for all the people that I've hurt in the process." On September 17, 2010, McDonnell decided to not stop Lewis' upcoming execution, stating: "Having carefully reviewed the petition for clemency, the judicial opinions in this case, and other relevant materials, I find no compelling reason to set aside the sentence that was imposed by the Circuit Court and affirmed by all reviewing courts."
Her attorneys filed motions for a writ of certiorari
Certiorari
Certiorari is a type of writ seeking judicial review, recognized in U.S., Roman, English, Philippine, and other law. Certiorari is the present passive infinitive of the Latin certiorare...
with the U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
to stay the execution
Stay of execution
A stay of execution is a court order to temporarily suspend the execution of a court judgment or other court order. The word "execution" does not necessarily mean the death penalty; it refers to the imposition of whatever judgment is being stayed....
, but were denied on September 21, 2010. Dissent
Dissent
Dissent is a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or an entity...
ing Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Joan Bader Ginsburg is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ginsburg was appointed by President Bill Clinton and took the oath of office on August 10, 1993. She is the second female justice and the first Jewish female justice.She is generally viewed as belonging to...
and Sonia Sotomayor
Sonia Sotomayor
Sonia Maria Sotomayor is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving since August 2009. Sotomayor is the Court's 111th justice, its first Hispanic justice, and its third female justice....
indicated that they would have granted a stay.
Execution
Lewis was granted a last mealLast meal
The last meal is a customary part of a condemned prisoner's last day. Often, the day of, or before, the appointed time of execution, the prisoner receives a last meal, as well as religious rites, if they desire. In the United States, inmates generally may not ask for an alcoholic drink...
that consisted of two fried chicken breasts, sweet peas with butter, a Dr Pepper
Dr Pepper
Dr Pepper is a soft drink, marketed as having a unique flavor. The drink was created in the 1880s by Charles Alderton of Waco, Texas and first served around 1885. Dr Pepper was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904 and is now also sold in Europe, Asia, Canada, Mexico, Australia ...
and German chocolate cake for dessert. Lewis addressed stepdaughter Kathy Lewis Clifton, who came to witness her execution, to apologize for killing her father.
Lewis was executed on September 23, 2010, at 9 p.m. by lethal injection
Lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
, at Greensville Correctional Center
Greensville Correctional Center
Greensville Correctional Center is a prison facility located in unincorporated Greensville County, Virginia, near Jarratt. It is operated by the Virginia Department of Corrections. Greensville houses the execution chamber used to carry out capital punishment by the Commonwealth of...
near Jarratt
Jarratt, Virginia
Jarratt is a town in Greensville and Sussex counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 589 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.3 square miles , all land....
. This made her the 12th woman to be executed in the United States since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. Lewis was the first woman to be executed in Virginia by lethal injection; the last woman to be executed in the state was Virginia Christian
Virginia Christian
Virginia Christian was the first female executed in the 20th century in the state of Virginia, and a juvenile offender executed in the United States. She was also the only female juvenile executed by electric chair and, to date, the last female executed in the electric chair by the Commonwealth of...
, who died in the electric chair
Electric chair
Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body...
in 1912. Lewis was also the first woman to be executed in the U.S. since Frances Newton
Frances Newton
Frances Elaine Newton was executed by lethal injection in the state of Texas for the April 7, 1987 murder of her husband, Adrian, 23, her son, Alton, 7, and daughter, Farrah, 21 months....
in 2005 in the state of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and the second woman to be executed since serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
Aileen Wuornos
Aileen Wuornos
Aileen Carol Wuornos was an American serial killer who killed seven men in Florida in 1989 and 1990, claiming they raped or attempted to rape her while she was working as a prostitute...
in 2002 in the state of Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
Public reaction and aftermath
Richard Dieter, executive of the Death Penalty Information Centre, argues that "so few women are involved in more heinous murders that, when they are, they cause greater offence than if they had been men. Virginia's attorney general really pushed the fact that she had committed adultery with a co-defendant and that she was somehow dishonoured and should be looked down upon".
Thousands of supporters argued that her death sentence should have been commuted
Commutation of sentence
Commutation of sentence involves the reduction of legal penalties, especially in terms of imprisonment. Unlike a pardon, a commutation does not nullify the conviction and is often conditional. Clemency is a similar term, meaning the lessening of the penalty of the crime without forgiving the crime...
to life imprisonment. Lewis' attorney James E. Rocap III said, "A good and decent person is about to lose her life because of a system that is broken ... it is grossly unfair to impose the death sentence on her while Shallenberger and Fuller received life." Her low IQ also became a matter of discussion, with supporters citing this as a reason she should not have been sentenced to death. Legal novelist John Grisham
John Grisham
John Ray Grisham, Jr. is an American lawyer and author, best known for his popular legal thrillers.John Grisham graduated from Mississippi State University before attending the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981 and practiced criminal law for about a decade...
echoed these sentiments and argued that evidence indicated Shallenberger, who had an IQ of 113, was the actual mastermind. Grisham quoted from an affidavit by co-conspirator Rodney Lamont Fuller: "As between Mrs. Lewis and Shallenberger, Shallenberger was definitely the one in charge of things, not Mrs. Lewis."
Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad cited the case to denounce Western media coverage of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani , is an Iranian woman who has gained the attention of human rights groups and people throughout the world for a conviction of adultery and accompanying sentence of death by stoning. Since 2006, she has been imprisoned and under a death sentence in Tabriz, Iran after being...
, a woman in Iran who had been sentenced to death by stoning
Stoning
Stoning, or lapidation, is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until the person dies. No individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject, yet everyone involved plainly bears some degree of moral culpability. This is in contrast to the...
for adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
. He claimed the media's "heavy propaganda" campaign was perpetrating a double standard
Double standard
A double standard is the unjust application of different sets of principles for similar situations. The concept implies that a single set of principles encompassing all situations is the desirable ideal. The term has been used in print since at least 1895...
by not responding with similar outrage over Lewis' impending execution. Executive director Larry Cox of Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
, which opposes the death penalty under all circumstances, stated: "Proceeding with this execution would come dangerously close to violating the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits capital punishment for those with 'mental retardation' — a precedent established thanks to Atkins v. Virginia
Atkins v. Virginia
Atkins v. Virginia, , is a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled 6-3 that executing the mentally retarded violates the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishments.-The case:...
."
In September 2010, the bronze grave markers of murder victims Julian Clifton Lewis, Jr. and Charles J. Lewis were reported stolen. The Schoolfield Cemetery had been experiencing a problem with stolen grave markers.
See also
- Capital punishment debateCapital punishment debateThe use of capital punishment, frequently known as the death penalty, is highly controversial.-Retribution:Supporters of the death penalty argued that death penalty is morally justified when applied in murder especially with aggravating elements such as multiple homicide, child murder, torture...
- Capital punishment in VirginiaCapital punishment in VirginiaCapital punishment is legal in the U.S. State of Virginia. In what is now the Commonwealth of Virginia, the first execution in the future United States was carried out in 1608. It was the first of 1,384 executions, the highest total of any state in the Union...
- List of females executed in the United States
- List of individuals executed in Virginia
External links
- Teresa Lewis death row updates
- Teresa Wilson Bean Lewis (#1227) at the Clark CountyClark County, IndianaClark County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana, located directly across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky. At the 2010 Census, the population was 110,232. The county seat is Jeffersonville. Clarksville is also a major city in the county...
Prosecuting Attorney's Office