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Anyone heard of this young woman's case...?

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bliss_eternal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Sep-20-07 11:23 PM
Original message
Anyone heard of this young woman's case...?
...the Stacey Lannert story(as it's called on A&E)?

I've been wondering about her, but could only recall her first name. Tonight her story was replayed on American Justice. So I brought it here for discussion. Really breaks my heart. :( :grr::cry:

From wikipedia's page on Stacey Lannert:

Stacey Lannert (b. May 28, 1972) is a woman from Missouri serving a life sentence with no possibility of parole for the murder of her father, Tom Lannert. Lannert claims that her father sexually abused her from the age of nine; upon reporting the abuse to her guidance counselor, babysitter, and psychiatrist, her cries for helped with ignored or otherwise brushed aside.

On 4 July 1990, at the age of 18, Lannert shot her father while he slept, citing ongoing abuse of her younger sister, Christy, as a catalyst. She has been incarcerated since. Several expert witnesses come forward on both Lannert's case, agreeing that Lannert shows signs of abuse.

Her former defense attorney attempted to introduce Battered Spouse Syndrome on Stacey's behalf at trail; however, the jury would never hear of the ten years of abuse that Stacey and her sister suffered and consequently sentenced her to a mandatory life sentence with no possibility of parole. After sentencing, members of the jury expressed outraged that facts of sexual and physical abuse were never introduced at trial. All agree that the outcome of the trial would have been very different. The presiding judge, the Honorable Steven H. Goldman, issued this statement regarding Stacey's case:

" sentence is severe for a 20 year old. It is also somewhat surprising considering the evidence of sexual abuse by the victims father.... conventional life sentence would be more appropiate from a comparison standpoint."<1>
The United States Supreme Court, Eighth Circuit, issued this statement after Lannert filed a petition for appeal:

The "absence of aggression or provocation on the part of the defender" element of the Missouri self-defense statute does not articulate a time frame during which the initial act of aggression and the act of self-defense must occur. It is therefore deeply troubling that the jury was not completely informed of the scope of the abuse Lannert suffered, her fear, or her rage that her sister may also have been victimized by their father. This evidence of battered spouse syndrome might have placed Lannert's actions in proper context, and may have allowed a jury to conclude that Lannert was not the initial aggressor on the night of her father's death, potentially resulting in a very different outcome than what she faces today.<2>
Lannert has since exhausted all of her appeals, and is now seeking clemency from Governor Matt Blunt, to either commute her sentence to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years (of which she has served 15 already) or to be pardoned.



----------------------------snip----------------------------------------


taken from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stacey_Lannert

Other sites about stacey:

http://www.freestaceylannert.org/

http://crime.about.com/od/female_offenders/p/lannert.htm


Thoughts?
:shrug:

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atommom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-21-07 07:37 AM
Response to Original message
1. What a sad story. And I would not want to be in the position of
depending on Matt Blunt to do the right thing. :(
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ThomCat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-21-07 08:14 AM
Response to Original message
2. Because we all know that victims of abuse
should never, ever do anything to end that abuse, or protect others from abuse. And if all the people who are supposed to help them turn their back, well that's just too bad.
:cry:

I say that this woman is a hero. Anyone who survives years trapped in an abusive sitatuation is amazingly strong. I'm glad she was there to protect her sister.
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Katherine Brengle Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-21-07 08:19 AM
Response to Reply #2
3. Seconded.
Isn't there any other way to get something like this revisited? That evidence should have been admitted - otherwise it just looks like a young woman just up and decided to kill her father, which isn't the case here.

First she was abused by someone who should have been protecting her, then she was abused by the justice system for stopping him.

I hate the world sometimes.
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bliss_eternal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-21-07 05:39 PM
Response to Reply #2
5. My head spins when I consider...
Edited on Fri Sep-21-07 05:40 PM by bliss_eternal
...how much more complex this situation would be if she (or her sister) were impregnated during the course of this abuse. This is why I believe that the parental notification mandate is so potentially dangerous

Clearly abuse, even of a child is NOT something that is consistently handled well on behalf of the victim. Young women need the ability to utilize reproductive choices WITHOUT permission, especially because of cases like these.

I hope it's ok that I'm discussing this aspect here and not in our other group(pro-choice).

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ThomCat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-21-07 09:25 PM
Response to Reply #5
9. Yes, you are absolutely right.
And I'm sure we have all brought up exactly that type of scenario in discussion the problems of mandatory parental notification.

I certainly hope it's okay to still discuss choice here. The other forum may be set up specifically for that topic, but it's still an integral part of the wider discussions too.
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noamnety Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-21-07 02:21 PM
Response to Original message
4. I hadn't heard about this.
They have a petition on their site: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/125146079
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bliss_eternal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-21-07 05:42 PM
Response to Reply #4
6. I recall a petition...
Edited on Fri Sep-21-07 05:43 PM by bliss_eternal
...after I saw the story aired originally (a few years ago). I signed one then in hopes it would help free Stacey. I wonder if this is different and if I should sign again. I don't want to start getting literature and mailings from bullshit repuke causes in Missouri. :shrug:
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bliss_eternal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-21-07 07:02 PM
Response to Original message
7. I wonder if anyone writes her....
...as she seems the kind of person that could benefit from a friend.

I see entire shows devoted to serial killers, guys on death row, men that murdered their wives--all getting bags and bags of mail, marriage proposals, etc. I wonder how many people reach out to women like this.

:(
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ThomCat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-21-07 09:27 PM
Response to Reply #7
10. If anyone finds an address, and is willing to share it through a PM
I'd be willing to write to her and be a pen pal.

I'm sure she'd appreciate some supportive letters.
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ismnotwasm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-21-07 07:56 PM
Response to Original message
8. I haven't heard about this case
Edited on Fri Sep-21-07 07:58 PM by ismnotwasm
I with I could say this was an isolated incident, the rare miscarriage of justice, but of course I can't. Every time I read about anything in Missouri, it seems to have more than it's share of corruption. I feel bad for those in that state.
I was recently turned on to this writer, Silja Talvi, who has recently published a book on women in prison, and is a free lance journalist.
I was sitting on a downtown bench, reading a book with the word "feminist' in the title, surrounded by tourists, homeless folk, street people, and addicts of various types. One young man turned to me and said "I noticed your book, have you ever read Slija Talvi?" I hadn't, and I still haven't read her book, but it looks interesting.
Her blog;
http://www.wimnonline.org/WIMNsVoicesBlog/?author=48

Writing samples from the website;

http://www.well.com/~sisu/samples.html

I may email her and see if she knows more about this particular case.

Edit to add another link regarding a similar story from her website
http://www.inthesetimes.com/issue/26/25/news2.shtml
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