Criminal Neonaticide

[Proteas]

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State won't seek death penalty against Lowe

Posted: Nov 10, 2011 1:05 PM CST Updated: Nov 10, 2011 1:10 PM CST
Posted by Chuck Morris - email

GALLATIN, TN (WSMV) -

Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty of a woman accused of killing her newborn twins, according to a news release on Thursday.

District Attorney Ray Whitley said the state will not seek the death penalty in the case against Lindsey Lowe, who was indicted this week by the Sumner County grand jury.

Lowe was indicted on two counts of first degree murder, two counts of first degree premeditated murder and two counts of aggravated child abuse.

Each of the first degree murder counts carries with it the potential of a life sentence. The two counts of aggravated child abuse carry the potential of 15-25 years each.

Lowe will be arraigned on Nov. 18 in Sumner County Criminal Court.

Copyright 2011 WSMV. All rights reserved.

http://www.wsmv.com/story/16009808/state -wont-seek-death-penalty-against-lowe

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You can peruse the WSMV website at your own lesiure to view other news articles about the case, but I'll give you the basic details of it.

Lindsey Lowe is a college student who (unbeknownst to anyone, not even her boyfriend) was pregnant, and gave birth at home to twin boys. After giving birth to the two, she took and held her hand over their mouths and suffocated them, then hid their bodies in a clothes basket where her father later found them and called 911 who in turn notified the police. Lowe was taken into police custody and confessed to the crime, and she has since been released on bond.

Personally? I don't know how I feel about all of this. Normally I'm either hard for or against something on an issue, but on this one I'm just stunned. I think we've all heard at one time or another tales of teenage mothers dropping their kids off in dumpsters to die (it was even parodied on family guy, click), but... what she did was intentional and she told the cops as much.

Okay, so they're not going to give her the death penalty. I think I can live with that. She's got enough charges against her that, if convicted, she'll never set foot outside of prison again, but I don't know if that's fitting, either. So... what do you guys think should be done with her?

[AKACCMIOF]

Wow, that's a complex issue. She seems unlikely to reoffend, but what she did is kinda sickening. I gotta say, I think what she did is terrible. But is that why people get sent to deathrow, just as a punishment? This is just confusing. Reckon it could be a very interesting thread to lurk.

[Famas]

This, compounded with the recent story about the lady who murdered her infant in a microwave, is making my head hurt. God damn it, America. God damn it.

That said, as a blanket statement I strongly oppose the death penalty, and life imprisonment seems like a much more apt consequence for her actions anyways. For fuck's sake, she could've just wrapped them up in a blanket and dropped them off at a fire station. They take infants in with no questions asked.

At 11/10/11 03:20 PM, AKACCMIOF wrote:

She seems unlikely to reoffend

Seriously? She committed premeditated double infanticide. What makes you think she'd murder two of her own children yet stop at aggravated assault or homicide and say "No, that's immoral, I won't do that"?

Unless there are extreme extenuating circumstances regarding her mental health or stability, I really don't think she deserves a chance to prove whether or not she would re-offend. How the hell did she get out on bond anyways? Anybody with any brains is just going to bolt the first chance they get and head for the hills after being released on bond for murder charges.

[Korriken]

Now, as much as I am for "rehabilitation" NOT punishing her sets a terrible precedent. If they let HER off easy with double premeditated murder, not only that, a VERY heinous way to kill someone, by suffocating them with your bare hands, then you send the message that its ok to murder your unwanted newborn children.

Fry her.

[Ravariel]

At 11/10/11 05:34 PM, Korriken wrote:
Fry her.

Personally, I think that lets her off too easy. Let her rot in a jail cell for the next 50 years and wallow in the knowledge that she murdered her own children. Kid killers have a rough time of it in prison, and I say: good.

[Camarohusky]

Seems like a political move to me.

Young woman killing her newborns doesn't come off to the masses as the same level of dirty and despicable as many of the other capital murders. I am guessing the prosecutors are taking what they have, and trying to hold back in order to not look like the bad guy.

[Famas]

At 11/10/11 09:19 PM, Camarohusky wrote: Seems like a political move to me.

What's to gain here politically? Especially in a traditionally red state like Tennessee? It would seem more compliant with traditionally conservative platforms if she was given the death penalty.

[Korriken]

At 11/10/11 09:19 PM, Camarohusky wrote: Seems like a political move to me.

Young woman killing her newborns doesn't come off to the masses as the same level of dirty and despicable as many of the other capital murders. I am guessing the prosecutors are taking what they have, and trying to hold back in order to not look like the bad guy.

WHAT?! how does killing newborn babies in such a cold hearted and personal manner as suffocating them with your bare hands not register and dirty and despicable?

to me its worse, she could have lifted her hand before they died and spared them, but no, she purposefully suffocated 2 helpless individuals who had no chance of fighting back.

if THAT isn't despicable to you, then you might need to reevaluate your life.

[Angry-Hatter]

At 11/10/11 05:34 PM, Korriken wrote: Now, as much as I am for "rehabilitation" NOT punishing her sets a terrible precedent.

What, putting her in prison for the rest of her life isn't punishment in your book?

[Camarohusky]

At 11/10/11 09:46 PM, Korriken wrote: if THAT isn't despicable to you, then you might need to reevaluate your life.

Never said it wasn't despicable. But, as far as capital defendants go, she's in the top 1 percentile of sympathetic ones. That is why I say it was a political move.

Why stick it to a sympathetic defendant when she's already got a couple life sentences?

[Proteas]

At 11/10/11 09:40 PM, Famas wrote: What's to gain here politically? Especially in a traditionally red state like Tennessee? It would seem more compliant with traditionally conservative platforms if she was given the death penalty.

Weirdly enough, the WSMV page on Facebook that I found this article on originally, the majority of comments (3 out 5 I'd say) are oriented towards life in prison and hoping for divine retribution, as in, let her rot in prison for the rest of her life thinking about what she did, then let God deal with her. And quite frankly? I'm cool with that. She knows she did wrong, they said she was hysterical and her mother had to give her Valium on the day of the kid's funeral to calm her down (this came out when it was found she had failed a court ordered drug test).

Granted, they've also pointed out that she'll probably have to spend the rest of her life in protective custody/solitary confinement because of what she did; child murderers and molesters are pretty low on the totem pole in prison. If she doesn't, it won't be to long before somebody takes her out (of which a few commenters actually hoped for).

Go figure; stereotypes really aren't that stereotypical, after all.

[Famas]

I wasn't trying to throw out stereotypes, it's just that given that Tennessee is a red state and has a healthy number of inmates awaiting execution, it would make sense to an outside observer that a crime as heinous as this would elicit the death penalty. Granted, the article doesn't disclose her age, which could be playing a big role in the court's decision. Death penalty aside though, I'm rather surprised she was released on bond, as I said before. I've heard of some murder cases posting bond, but not ones that are so.....fucked up.

[Proteas]

At 11/11/11 02:00 PM, Famas wrote: I wasn't trying to throw out stereotypes, it's just that given that Tennessee is a red state and has a healthy number of inmates awaiting execution, it would make sense to an outside observer that a crime as heinous as this would elicit the death penalty.

And, as Camarohusky pointed out, she's a sympathetic figure; who in their right mind is going to try and level a death penalty charge against someone who clearly has mental issues and is in need of serious help?

Granted, the article doesn't disclose her age, which could be playing a big role in the court's decision.

She's 25. It was mentioned once or twice early on, but not so much now.

Death penalty aside though, I'm rather surprised she was released on bond, as I said before. I've heard of some murder cases posting bond, but not ones that are so.....fucked up.

Yeah, I don't quite get that, either. She confessed to police that she did it, yet, she was given bond and is still reffered to by local media as "the woman who is accused of smothering her newborn twins, Lindsey Lowe." If I own up to the fact that I killed someone, why would I still be treated like I was innocent?

[Camarohusky]

At 11/12/11 05:46 PM, Proteas wrote: Yeah, I don't quite get that, either. She confessed to police that she did it, yet, she was given bond and is still reffered to by local media as "the woman who is accused of smothering her newborn twins, Lindsey Lowe." If I own up to the fact that I killed someone, why would I still be treated like I was innocent?

In our legal system no one is guilty until the verdict goes on the record.

There have been numerous situations where a person confessed and in the end they were not found to be guilty. Perhaps it's the "She's a pretty southern belle and there's no way such a kindly woman could do something so evil" philosophy. (Saw her picture and don't think she's very attractive, but she is enough to get the Scarlet O'Hara treatment.)

[Atlas]

Put her in Jail for life, have her go to therapy, and as a punishment make kids walk past her cell everyday tempting her to kill them but knowing she can't she may kill herself.

[Saren]

Maybe she should get 20-30 years in prison and never be allowed to have children or something?

Iunno. I find a lot of other murders to be a lot more sickening than this. This was still a despicable thing to do but still.

[Atlas]

At 11/13/11 04:51 AM, Saren wrote: Maybe she should get 20-30 years in prison and never be allowed to have children or something?

Iunno. I find a lot of other murders to be a lot more sickening than this. This was still a despicable thing to do but still.

Agreed she has to get her tubes tied.

[Camarohusky]

At 11/13/11 12:53 PM, J-Rex wrote: Agreed she has to get her tubes tied.

I'm pretty sure that carries some tough 8th Amendment questions...

It's a guarantee that any baby she has will be removed by CPS though.

[Atlas]

At 11/13/11 11:07 PM, Camarohusky wrote:

At 11/13/11 12:53 PM, J-Rex wrote: Agreed she has to get her tubes tied.

I'm pretty sure that carries some tough 8th Amendment questions...

It's a guarantee that any baby she has will be removed by CPS though.

Doesn't matter anyway she will most likely get life or did get life so she can't have kids anyway.

[TheMajormel]

The thing that bothers me is that she is 25, an age where IT'S easy to worry about child much more than school work.
She thought she can just get away with killing her babies,but she should get 25 to 100 in jail.

[Atlas]

At 11/13/11 11:22 PM, majormelthesackboy wrote: The thing that bothers me is that she is 25, an age where IT'S easy to worry about child much more than school work.
She thought she can just get away with killing her babies,but she should get 25 to 100 in jail.

Are you saying that since she is young that maybe she should only get around 25 or so years in jail/prison?

[morefngdbs]

Why not save the State a shitload of money & simply call it really late term abortion.
Because that's basicly what she did.

So sterilize the stund bitch so this can never happen again & let her feed & house herself, save the tax payers money for someone who deserves a long prison sentence...like a banker.

[Camarohusky]

At 11/14/11 06:35 AM, morefngdbs wrote: Why not save the State a shitload of money & simply call it really late term abortion.
Because that's basicly what she did.

True. Her murders were textbook infanticide. It's extremely common among the animal world (and I'm sure it was common among many early human groups)

So sterilize the stund bitch so this can never happen again & let her feed & house herself, save the tax payers money for someone who deserves a long prison sentence...like a banker.

Ah yes, cause a banker deserves more punishment than a woman who killed two young lives.

[Proteas]

Just when I thought this issue couldn't get anymore fucked up than it already was...

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Lindsey Lowe's attorney enters not guilty plea

Posted: Nov 18, 2011 5:44 AM CST Updated: Nov 18, 2011 9:46 AM CST
Posted by Scott Sutton - email

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) -

The attorney of a Hendersonville woman accused of killing her newborn twins entered a not guilty plea Friday morning.

Lindsey Lowe's attorney filed paperwork so she would not have to attend the hearing.

Lowe was arrested in September and charged with murder in the death of her newborn baby boys.

She remains free on bond while attorneys prepare their case.

Copyright 2011 WSMV. All rights reserved.

http://www.wsmv.com/story/16072831/arrai gnment-hearing

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Please, somebody tell me this is a crappy and sick joke that Will Ferrel and Sacha Baron Cohen are responsible for.

[Camarohusky]

At 11/18/11 02:00 PM, Proteas wrote: Just when I thought this issue couldn't get anymore fucked up than it already was...
Lindsey Lowe's attorney enters not guilty plea
Please, somebody tell me this is a crappy and sick joke that Will Ferrel and Sacha Baron Cohen are responsible for.

How is this a sick joke? This seems like par for the course if ou ask me.

My guess is the prosecutors are asking her to plea to the sheet. If they aren't then they should e fired. If the option is plea to everything as alleged by the prosecution with no incentive at all, there is no reason for her not to plea "Not guilty" and take it a trial. Hell, at a trial she may be able to claim NGI, or GRI (depending on how TN words it) and get a light sentence at a mental hospital. Even better for her, she may prevail on a technicality, because the prosecutors pull a Casy Anthony and forget it's their burden to prove guilt, or ashe may convince a jury of some bull shit "It was involuntary" reason and get off.

So in other words she has some pretty good incentives to plea NG, and zero incentive to plea guilty.

Par for the course.