"First woman executed in Virginia in over a century"

[wookie72]

I've been reading about the case of Teresa Lewis, who was denied clemency by the governor of Virginia.

I'm against the death penalty in all cases, which I realize is not always a popular stance. However, I find it troubling that some news media are making a big deal about the fact that they're executing a woman. It bothers me that if it were, say, Terry Lewis, a black man convicted of paying someone to kill his wife, few would have a problem with it.

Why is it progressive to point out the death penalty's large racial bias, but not its even larger gender bias? And why does it take a woman being executed to get people to stand up and take notice when the men being executed (100 in Virginia since capital punishment was reintroduced in 1976) are just business as usual?

[hlthe2b]

1. this is my second attempt to respond to your thread..

I too am anti-death penalty.

That said, I do think it natural to point out her gender for the simple reason that men so outnumber women on death row. So, I don't make more of it than that. Given they seem to want to make a distinction in death penalty cases for those who commit the crime, versus those who commissioned it, as well as mental competency issues, I guess I can see the point in the media's focus. I do have to say there is something about this woman's photo that gave me a real creepy and hair-raising feeling. That's probably not fair, but it is true. Nonetheless, I remain anti-death penalty, even on the most heinous cases like the case of the doctor's family playing out in Washington state right now...

[Booster]

2. Just human nature. It's the same feeling we have when we read

the names of soldiers killed in this ridiculous war; we see a woman's name and we stop for a minute and read what happened to her. We've become accustomed to men being executed and killed in war, but not women. It's not right, but that's just the way we are.

[Bitwit1234]

3. I think some women who kill should not be treated different

from men who kill. But in this woman's case each and every test they took shows she is mentality deficient. It shows that the two men in this case put all the blame on her. And the doctors said she was so low on the IQ scale she could not have planned much less carry out such a plan. They knew she was slow, so they thought they would save their butts by blaming her. And it just goes to show what kind of a ignorant unnatural mind McDonnel has, because he did not commute her to life at least. Just like his wimpy cowboy "brother" Bush ...when he mocked the woman he agreed to put to death in Texas. Maybe the woman deserved it, she killed her two children, but this action at the beginning of Bush being known on the national stage,showed the type of character he had. And McDonnel's action shows his character also. It shows that they both think they are macho. But in reality they stink.

[wookie72]

4. I agree she has probably gotten an unfair share of the blame.

But the headlines (big banner one of HuffPo) blare out the fact that this is a "WOMAN" being executed.
It bothers me because I believe that all lives should be treated equally, and it bothers me that condemned prisoners who don't fit a "sympathetic" profile are ignored.

[Possumpoint]

5. She Did The Crime

Let her pay the bill. All the hoopla is theatrics generated to garner sympathy for her.

[onehandle]

6. Virginia is becoming the new Texas. nt

[Gin]

7. I read she is borderline retarded.....

[LostinVA]

11. She is, and the gunmen were not given death, yet she was

One of the killers stated that they manipulated her, but she was still executed.

I am 100% anti-DP anyway, but this execution is profoundly troubling.

[11 Bravo]

8. The sad fact is that it's not news when a guy rides the needle in VA.

There are people in Richmond right now who think they're in some kind of fucking contest with Texas. However, the execution of the first woman in the Commonwealth since 1912 is clearly newsworthy. (Plus, now McDonnell can get excited about catching up to Bush for the number of women he had put to death.)

[wookie72]

10. Here's the thing about Karla Faye Tucker, though...

I am against the death penalty, but there really was no special circumstances for clemency in her case. She hacked to death two people with a pickaxe. I think it's good that she turned her life around after that, but...
Let me be clear, because this could easily be misconstrued: I don't think anyone should be put to death, ever. But I also think that Tucker's case was no different from pretty much any man put to death in Texas under W.

[LongTomH]

9. I'm sorry anyone is being executed.

Put me down as anti-death penalty in all cases.

[BlueIris]

12. The death penalty exists to give police and prosecutors leverage.

And a higher case closure/conviction rate. That's it. It is a negotiating tool, not a deterrent.

[BlueIris]

13. Kick.

[yella_dawg]

14. Gender equality doesn't really mean equality.

This is a very difficult topic to broach on this board. It's unfortunate, because I believe that in the long run, women pay a price for selective equality. In any case, we're a long way from real equality in this culture, be it gender, racial, religious, or any other difference we perceive.