| Black Women on Death Row |
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Shonda D. Walters Age: 26, Mixed Race
Woman Convicted in Pa. Hatchet Slaying
The Associated Press
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - A woman was convicted Monday of murdering her neighbour with a hatchet, striking the 83-year-old Pearl Harbour veteran nearly 70 times as he begged for his life.
She was arrested after one of her friends told police that she had come to her house wearing gloves covered in blood and confessed.
District Attorney Ted McKnight said Walter turned down a pre-trial offer of a life sentence if she pleaded guilty.
Prosecutors said 25-year-old Shonda D. Walter carried out the attack because she wanted to join a gang, and one of the initiation requirements was to commit a crime. She also stole $500 in quarters from the veteran and drove away in his Toyota Camry.
The jury took less than 30 minutes to convict Walter of first-degree murder in the slaying of James Sementelli.
Witnesses at the trial testified that Walter said she took a break during the slaying to recite the Lord's Prayer, etched a cross in the veteran's stomach as he neared death, then watched TV and ate a bowl of ice cream before making off with his car and money.
"We thought that the evidence was overwhelming and, obviously, the jury did too," District Attorney Ted McKnight said.
Defence attorney Stephen Smith said he was disappointed but not surprised by the verdict.
After the verdict was announced, the jury began deliberations to decide if Walter should receive the death penalty or life in prison.
Death row loneliness lies ahead for woman
Sunday, April 24, 2005
BY JOHN
BEAUGE
For The Patriot-News
MUNCY - Shonda Walter will most likely never hug her daughter again. In fact, the 25-year-old single mother could finish her life without ever touching another person, prison authorities say.
She will be one of six women on death row in Pennsylvania.
Now, my first thought was, 'Wow, this will not win any converts to the cause.' Sure, everyone feels terrible for her daughter who will grow up, for all intents and purposes, without a mother, and Ms. Walter might win sympathy from a lot of people had she been abused, like many female criminals. (The article notes that no evidence of abuse was presented at trial.)
But, for crying out loud, the lady cut up an 83 year-old man with a hatchet and then sat there while he pleaded with her to call 911. This is the kind of story abolitionists run from.
Look deeper.
This article describes the isolation of death row. She will never hug her daughter again. She may never even so much as touch another human being. 22 hours per day are spent in her cell. Her toilet is just a few feet from her bed. Her two hours of outdoor time are spent in a cage with another prisoner nearby but separate.
With the death penalty, she'll live this way for maybe 10-15 years.
With a life sentence, she would live this way for 45 years. What's the average lifespan these days, 75? We'll knock off five years because living in prison is rough and guess that she would live to 70. 45 years of this isolation as punishment for murdering her neighbour.
Chew on that.
I'm not one who argues that life imprisonment is actually worse than the death penalty because, frankly, I cannot imagine living out either scenario. But 45 years (!) of near total isolation? That's heavy.
Anyone who argues that doing away with the death penalty would allow murderers to go "unpunished" (Mr. District Attorney, I'm talking to you) is a damn fool.
posted by The Central Pennsylvania Abolitionist |
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