Ask the Parents

Almost everyone has heard or read about the botched execution in Tennessee a few weeks ago. I didn’t recall the woman’s case that sent her to death row. This isn’t about executions or the woman’s botched execution. It’s about her true crime.

The woman had a rough childhood. Raised by her verbally abusive alcoholic grandmother, then after her passing shuffled between her birth mother and father who were not together—but spent most of her time at her mother’s home. She ran wild, with no discipline or rules.

Her mother, a licensed nurse, smoked marijuana with her to try a form a friendship with her daughter. She allowed her 14-year-old daughter’s boyfriend to move in with her daughter. The police arrested the boyfriend for whipping the girl.

At 18, she enrolled in Job Corps with dreams of becoming a nurse. A few months later, the authorities questioned her, her 17-year-old boyfriend, and an 18-year-old female friend on suspicion of murder. She gave a detailed confession. And after the attack, she’d told classmates at her Jobs Corps facility what she’d done. When asked why she killed the 19-year-old woman, she answered, “Just felt mean that day.”

The troubled woman and her boyfriend brutalized the victim for almost an hour. The woman took a piece of the victim’s skull as a trophy. A jury found her guilty of premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit murder. At the sentencing, because the crime was especially heinous, the jury sentenced her to death by electrocution. Years after her sentencing, the state adopted lethal injection as its primary execution method.

Her 17-year-old boyfriend, according to court testimony, actively participated in the prolonged assault on the victim. He struck and cut her, prevented her from escaping, and gagged her. Although he did not deliver the fatal blow, his actions helped ensure she couldn’t escape. The court tried him as an adult and convicted him of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Because he was 17 at the time of the crime, he was ineligible for the death penalty. The court sentenced him to life in prison with the possibility of parole, plus a consecutive 25-year sentence for conspiracy.

The second female admitted being present at the torture and killing, which lasted close to one hour, but denied participating. Prosecutors ultimately concluded they lacked sufficient evidence to prove that she had participated. Although originally facing a murder charge, she pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact and testified against the other two. The court sentenced her to six-years probation with credit for over 400 days already served in jail.

The victim’s mother wasn’t aware of the third person’s plea agreement until after the fact. She said,

“I’m very, very angry about it. I think the state should ask the parents what they (the state) should do.”

Do you agree? Should the victim’s family be consulted before they offer a plea agreement?

Source: Supreme Court of Tennessee, AP, People

All data and information provided is for information and research purposes only and not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, or individual. Appeals or overturned verdicts may have occurred in criminal cases since I researched them. All information is provided on an as-is basis.