Uh what? Was this article discussed?

[TrickyBob]

news.yahoo.com/ind-woman-sentenced-die-16-released-182419951.html

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indiana woman put on death row at age 16 for killing an elderly Bible school teacher is scheduled to be released Monday after serving a prison term that was shortened after the state Supreme Court intervened.

Paula Cooper's death sentence at such a young age sparked international protests and a plea for clemency from Pope John Paul II. Now 43 years old, Cooper is being given a second chance at her life.

Cooper was 15 when she and three other teenage girls showed up at Ruth Pelke's house on May 14, 1985, with plans of robbing the 78-year-old Bible school teacher. Pelke let Cooper and two of the teen's companions into her Gary home after they told her they were interested in Bible lessons.

As the fourth teen waited outside as a lookout, Cooper stabbed Pelke 33 times with a butcher knife. Then she and the other girls ransacked the house. The four girls fled with Pelke's car and $10.

Cooper's three accomplices were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 25 to 60 years. But Cooper, who confessed to Pelke's slaying, was convicted of murder and sentenced to die in the electric chair. At the time — in 1986 — she was the youngest death row inmate in the U.S.

Some people believed Cooper deserved to die, but the punishment enraged human rights activists and death penalty opponents around the world, including those who viewed the teen as a victim of a racist criminal justice system.

Pope John Paul II urged that Cooper be granted clemency in 1987, and in 1988 a priest brought a petition to Indianapolis with more than 2 million signatures protesting Cooper's sentence.

The Indiana Supreme Court set Cooper's death sentence aside in 1988 and ordered her to serve 60 years in prison after state legislators passed a law raising Indiana's minimum age limit for execution from 10 to 16. The state's high court also cited a 1988 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court barring the execution of juveniles younger than 16 at the time of the crime.

Since then, the U.S. Supreme Court has found it unconstitutional to execute anyone younger than 18.

"People still know about this case," Indianapolis attorney Jack Crawford, who was the Lake County prosecutor during Cooper's murder trial, told The Indianapolis Star. "The name Paula Cooper still resonates, and she's going to attract some attention when she is released."

But, he said, Cooper has done her time and may yet contribute to society. Crawford said he has come to oppose the death penalty since Cooper's conviction.

Cooper's sister, Rhonda Labroi, said she hopes people will see Paula as more than a killer. After getting in trouble 23 times during her time in prison, Paula Cooper turned to education, earning a bachelor's degree in 2001.

"She was just a child at the time that happened, and now she is an adult and people should wait and see and give her a chance," Labroi said. "Give her an opportunity. Maybe she'll do some wonderful things for children who are growing up and aren't so fortunate, like she was.

"There are second chances," she said. "It seems like God has given her another chance. I think if people give her a second chance, she'll do fine."



__________________________


She stabbed the woman 33 times and got in trouble in jail 23 times, but she's being released?! And her sister thinks she'll do good, possibly with children. 

What?! 

[UMaineTeach]

Jun 17, 2013 11:51:58 GMT -5 TrickyBob said:

__________________________


She stabbed the woman 33 times and got in trouble in jail 23 times, but she's being released?! And her sister thinks she'll do good, possibly with children. 

What?! 

ahhhh, no.
sorry lady. Sure we shouldn't kill you, but life in prison seems reasonable for such a willful act. Thank God for the fingerprinting and criminal history checks for everyone who works in a school, and hopefully if she somehow applies for a job with kids that doesn't require a check then the fact that her name "resonates with people" will help avoid her hire.

[karmasabiotch]

The odds of a living a crime free life are againts her.

[Jalapeñomel]

She definitely deserves to stay in prison forever. I am against the death penalty though.

[sineadorebellion]

I'm on my phone but to add to this.. www.cnn.com/2013/06/17/justice/death-row-freedom/
I thought this was interesting.

[EmilieMadison]

Yes, I'm SURE a school district will hire her.
She may have been "just a kid", but she violently murdered someone and then got in a whole lot of trouble while in prison. But yeah, she'll probably be fine on the outside. Juuuust fine.

[Jalapeñomel]

Jun 17, 2013 12:13:37 GMT -5 EmilieMadison said:

Yes, I'm SURE a school district will hire her.
She may have been "just a kid", but she violently murdered someone and then got in a whole lot of trouble while in prison. But yeah, she'll probably be fine on the outside. Juuuust fine.

could you imagine finding this out about your kid´s teacher?

[tigress]

It did sound like she got in trouble when she was young, and then since 2001 she has been on the straight and narrow after getting some education. But maybe I'm reading that wrong.

I sure hope she has a good probation officer.

[TrickyBob]

Jun 17, 2013 12:38:30 GMT -5 tigress said:

It did sound like she got in trouble when she was young, and then since 2001 she has been on the straight and narrow after getting some education. But maybe I'm reading that wrong.

I sure hope she has a good probation officer.

I don't care if she was little miss perfect from 17 til now, she still stabbed someone 33 times! 

[PeonyParty]

This woman literally grew up in prison. She has to be a whackadoo.

ETA: WTF to originally going to rob the old lady and then change of plans- stab her 33 fucking times and only take her car and $10. Whut?

[tigress]

Jun 17, 2013 12:43:00 GMT -5 TrickyBob said:

Jun 17, 2013 12:38:30 GMT -5 tigress said:

It did sound like she got in trouble when she was young, and then since 2001 she has been on the straight and narrow after getting some education. But maybe I'm reading that wrong.

I sure hope she has a good probation officer.

I don't care if she was little miss perfect from 17 til now, she still stabbed someone 33 times! 

I know I know. I was semi giving her the benefit of the doubt. But I agree it is horrific. I'm not sure releasing her is the way to go.

[Saint Monica]

Jun 17, 2013 12:43:31 GMT -5 PeonyParty said:

This woman literally grew up in prison. She has to be a whackadoo.

What are your thoughts about persons who are wrongfully convicted then released.  They have lived a good portion of their lives in prison.  Do you think they are 'whackadoo'?

[emsumm]

I think it's incredibly sad to think this girl grew up in a prison. I do not think a 16 year old should have been put on death row, and it sounds like her accomplices were given far more mercy and that that was race-related.
I have a hard time saying any 16 year old should be locked away forever.
I also think getting in trouble 23 times could mean a lot of things, and that it's very likely that that means little, or a lot. Hard to say.
Anyway. She's not done anything wrong in 12 years, whilst thinking she was sentenced to death, so that says something.

[emsumm]

I'm not saying I don't think she should be/have been punished, but the whole reason we question putting children in prison or death row is because their brains are not developed enough for them to be held entirely responsible for their actions. Just based on the science of brain maturation alone, she is a different person now and very well might never have committed the same crime had she been an adult.

[Saint Monica]

That being said if someone killed my loved one, no matter their age, keeping them incarcerated for life (theirs or mine) would be the the prudent course to take.

[emsumm]

Jun 17, 2013 13:19:40 GMT -5 Saint Monica said:

That being said if someone killed my loved one, no matter their age, keeping them incarcerated for life (theirs or mine) would be the the prudent course to take.

If it were a child, I'd like to think I could forgive over time, though I (thankfully) just don't know.
But man, my guess is this girl was very much the product of a really fucked childhood, which I can't blame her for.  We don't know what got her to that point, you know?

[cleo29]

No offense, but they make her turning to education as something huge. What else does she have to do with her time?? Other than get into trouble, apparently.

And while I know 15 is young, I don't see this as an innocent child killing someone. To stab someone 33 times is overkill and pretty brutal. The woman sounds disturbed and these crimes are MORE disturbing when committed by a young person.

[PeonyParty]

Jun 17, 2013 12:59:55 GMT -5 Saint Monica said:

Jun 17, 2013 12:43:31 GMT -5 PeonyParty said:

This woman literally grew up in prison. She has to be a whackadoo.

What are your thoughts about persons who are wrongfully convicted then released.  They have lived a good portion of their lives in prison.  Do you think they are 'whackadoo'?

I don't. This has nothing to do with being wrongfully convicted. This has to do with an obviously mentally unstable 16 year old CHILD who has spent almost her entire life in the system. Yeah, she's got to have some issues. Serious, serious issues.

[emsumm]

Jun 17, 2013 13:26:16 GMT -5 PeonyParty said:

Jun 17, 2013 12:59:55 GMT -5 Saint Monica said:

What are your thoughts about persons who are wrongfully convicted then released.  They have lived a good portion of their lives in prison.  Do you think they are 'whackadoo'?

I don't. This has nothing to do with being wrongfully convicted. This has to do with an obviously mentally unstable 16 year old CHILD who has spent almost her entire life in the system. Yeah, she's got to have some issues. Serious, serious issues.

Ok, but, I think @saintmonica asks a compelling question.  I would never use the term whackadoo, but sure, I think the prison system, and prison itself, is an absolutely fucked , and that anyone that spends years and years there, especially formative ones, is going to be affected, regardless of whether or not they actually committed the crime or not.  Actually, I wonder if maybe you'd end up even more disturbed if you were incarcerated wrongfully. 
Also, PeonyParty, you are going on the assumption that someone who commits a violent crime must necessarily be mentally ill, yes?  I'm not arguing for or against that, I just think it's an interesting stance.

[PeonyParty]

I do. I believe there has to be something inherently mentally wrong to stab an unarmed, noncombative elderly person 33 fucking times, yes.
As far as the wrongful incarceration- I absolutely feel like that could give someone major issues. And while whackadoo was probably a more outrageous term for most situations, I think it probably applies moreso to this woman. You have to remember the time in which she was incarcerated (as in time period). This woman most likely received no mental health help while incarcerated. And if she did, it was probably very late in the the game. I hope that she has been getting help and continues to do so if released.
I think in cases of wrongful incarceration- even though it can really mess with a person (and understandably so), the process is probably at least made easier by the assistance provided once released as opposed to someone who willfully commits a crime and is incarcerated for it for majority of their lives and then is released with the stigma still attached to committing and paying for said crime.

All that being said- my original point was not necessarily about the amount of time spent in prison, but the age at which she actually entered into prison. Not many people spend most of their teen years and on in prison. Growing up when you're learning who you are, how to act, etc. in a place where a lot of people (peers, friends, mentors) are those who are in prison has to mess your life up. (This opinion brought to by having worked in a residential treatment facility for teen girls and seeing effects of putting them all together and how the feed off each other and compete).

[snickers]

She does not deserve to get out after stabbing someone 33 times.
Also, the chances of her not returning to prison again soon are pretty slim, considering this is pretty much the only lifestyle she knows now.

[pantsparty]

Jun 17, 2013 11:51:58 GMT -5 TrickyBob said:

"There are second chances," she said. "It seems like God has given her another chance. I think if people give her a second chance, she'll do fine."

I hate this bullshit. A flawed justice system gave her a second chance. Don't bring God into this.

[mrsgoontz]

Jun 17, 2013 14:22:52 GMT -5 snickers said:

She does not deserve to get out after stabbing someone 33 times.
Also, the chances of her not returning to prison again soon are pretty slim, considering this is pretty much the only lifestyle she knows now.

This is where I'm at.

[deanlicker78]

Jun 17, 2013 13:09:17 GMT -5 Saint Monica said:

Jun 17, 2013 13:04:51 GMT -5 emsumm said:

I think it's incredibly sad to think this girl grew up in a prison. I do not think a 16 year old should have been put on death row, and it sounds like her accomplices were given far more mercy and that that was race-related.
I have a hard time saying any 16 year old should be locked away forever.
I also think getting in trouble 23 times could mean a lot of things, and that it's very likely that that means little, or a lot. Hard to say.
Anyway. She's not done anything wrong in 12 years, whilst thinking she was sentenced to death, so that says something.

I do feel a bit for Eric Smith.  I think he was 12 or 13 when he was sentenced.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Smith_%28murderer%29

Feel a bit for him? The description of what he did to that little boy is horrifying.  I do not care what age he was when he did it. 

[TrickyBob]

I'm really side-eyeing in this post. How can anyone feel compassion for this girl? How can anyone think she grew up and out of this? She, at an age where she knows right from wrong, murdered someone. She kept killing after the person was dead. Normal, rational, and sane people do NOT do that.

Of course she hasn't done anything wrong in 12 years, she's been in prison.

[pantsparty]

This all goes back to kids are assholes.

[joshlyman]

I don't believe in sentencing minors as adults, or sentencing them to death, but damn. She should at a minimum be released into a mental hospital.

[Saint Monica]

Jun 17, 2013 14:46:26 GMT -5 pantsparty said:

This all goes back to kids are assholes.

DONT SAY THAT - THEY ARE JUST CHILDREN!

[themoneytree]

Throw away the key. I'm against the death penalty too, but there is a happy medium. It doesn't have to be death or being released.
This is not the kind of woman who should be out roaming the streets.