Texas woman executed for torture, starvation of 9-year-old boy

[7962]

Source: CBS

HUNTSVILLE, Texas - A Texas woman convicted of the starvation and torture death of her girlfriend's 9-year-old son a decade ago was executed Wednesday evening.

Lisa Coleman, 38, received a lethal injection after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a last-day appeal to spare her.
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Paramedics who found him dead said they were shocked to learn his age. He weighed 36 pounds, about half that of a normal 9-year-old. A pediatrician later would testify that he had more than 250 distinct injuries, including burns from cigarettes or cigars and scars from ligatures, and that a lack of food made him stop growing.

"There was not an inch on his body that not been bruised or scarred or injured," said Dixie Bersano, one of Coleman's trial prosecutors.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-woman-executed-for-torture-starvation-of-9-year-old-boy/

[Kurska]

1. Sometimes it is really hard to stay consistently anti-death penalty.

That is all I'm going to say here.

[MrBig]

5. I agree

I constantly have to remind myself that (for me) it isn't about this crime or this individual, but the systemic racism and classism present with how capital punishment is doled out.

But damn it's not easy...

[msanthrope]

8. Indeed. It is difficult to find empathy for those who have shown so little. I try to focus on

"state action" as opposed to the acts. That way, I can consistently maintain that although some truly terrible people probably got what was coming to them, I STILL don't want the state tinkering with the machinery of death.

[samsingh]

13. that's why i'm not against the death penalty when it is probably applied like in this case

there is no ambiguity at all

[LoisB]

2. I didn't see anything about charges against his "mother".

[teenagebambam]

3. The mother took a plea bargain

and got life in prison.

[LoisB]

16. Thank you.

[msanthrope]

4. Life. No parole possible "til 2044. Plea. nt

[secondwind]

6. I would think the mother should be punished even more.. how could she possibly allow this

to happen to her son???? This abuse must have occurred over a period of months, and the mother did NOTHING?

She should have been executed also, imho... and I'm not a death penalty person, because innocent people have been executed in the past, but this mother was as culpable as her friend.

[msanthrope]

10. This is horsetrading that happens when a prosecutor wants a capital conviction. nt

[samsingh]

14. i agree with you

[littlewolf]

7. I am arguing with myself right now.

I think both of them should have gotten life w/o parole - ever.
leave em locked up in prison, and stay there.

but - it is difficult in this case it really is.

[alp227]

9. I'm opposed to the death penalty but have no mercy for this woman. nt

[secondvariety]

11. Good riddance.

She got off easy compared to that poor boy.

[The Stranger]

12. The evidence here is vastly different from some other death penalty cases.

1. Here, there seems to be no question the child was in her custody. In other words, this isn't a case where someone is shot in the middle of the night, and only one eyewitness may or may not have caught a glimpse of the shooter.

2. Here, the child's body was found an examined. There is no question of chain of custody of a murder weapon or a murder case where the body or the murder weapon was never found.

We know what happened here, so this case is very, very different. And what happened was so very, very bad. Sociopathic doesn't quite really capture it.

And that is why this may be a justifiable case of capital punishment.

[7962]

15. And thats the solution to the problem of a possible innocent being executed

Seek the DP ONLY in cases where there is ZERO doubt as to the guilt of the shooter. Gacy would be a good example. OJ Simpson would be a prime example of "some" doubt. A lot of fancy evidence, circumstantial, etc. If I were on a jury, I could've convicted OJ and sent him to jail. But NOT the needle.
There are MANY cases where the guilt of the offender is never in doubt. That should be the litmus test for the prosecutor

[The Stranger]

17. True that, except . . .

. . . some object to the death penalty on other grounds.

I don't know the numbers, but anecdotally it would seem the vast majority of those opposed base their opposition on the chance that the State would execute an innocent (and it has happened before).

But there is another group that object on grounds of morality or religion (and, I think they are supposed to be stricken as jurors if they do, but I could be wrong on that as well).

[Arugula Latte]

19. But people tamper with/plant evidence, D.A.s have political agendas, confessions are coerced, etc.

And often the people involved in the crimes have mental issues, adding to the ambiguity. So the cases where there is zero percent doubt are pretty rare indeed.

Why not just err on the side of safety and give life in prison, which is a pretty terrible penalty?

[7962]

26. I'll tell you why,

#1- Too many criminals are just fine with life in prison
#2- Its only a matter of time before we have groups who will try to get "old" criminals released, saying that its now cruel to keep a 75 yr old in jail. They're no longer a threat, they're sick, whatever. Trust me, that will come soon.

And the zero percent is not really that rare. I'm not even considering eye witnesses and possible coerced confessions. There are plenty of examples of "caught red handed" or caught on the run. Caught in the act. Caught on film. Look at the Atlanta courthouse shooter a few years ago. ZERO doubt. I could name plenty others, but you get the point. I wouldnt accept anything in the gray area.

[Arugula Latte]

28. To me, it's much worse if one innocent person is executed than if 1,000 guilty

spend life in prison or are released when they are 75.

[Arugula Latte]

18. Life in prison is a worse punishment, IMO.

[NaturalHigh]

25. I definitely agree with that.

[BuddhaGirl]

20. Horrendous crime

But I'm against the death penalty. It's not "justice."

Life in prison w/o parole.

[freedom fighter jh]

21. The only justification for taking a life . . .

. . . is the direct prevention of equal or greater loss of life. It's OK to kill someone to stop them from killing you or someone else.

But that's it.

I don't care what she did. They could put her in prison for life. There is no justification for killing her.

[Thor_MN]

22. Life without parole. And about 1200 calories a day...

[TeeYiYi]

23. That's easily 900 more than she deserved.

I won't lose sleep over her absence.

TYY

[Historic NY]

24. She had 38yrs he had 9....she forfeited 31.

that is all.

[7962]

27. Well said

[FLPanhandle]

29. Is it permissible to say I have no sympathy for someone who would do that to a child?

I'm glad such a person is no longer alive.