Teresa Lewis

Background Born on April 26, 1969, Teresa Wilson grew up in poverty in Danville, Virginia, where her parents both worked in a textile mill. At 16, she dropped out of school and married a man she met at that church. but the marriage soon ended in divorce, after which Teresa turned to alcohol and painkillers.

A week later, on the night of October 30, Shallenberger and Fuller entered the Lewises' trailer through a back door that Teresa had left open. While she waited in the kitchen, Shallenberger shot the sleeping Julian several times, while Fuller shot Charles in his bedroom with a shotgun. She divided $300 with Shallenberger and Fuller before they left. Barbara G. Haskins, a court-appointed, board-certified forensic psychiatrist, stated that "Cognitive testing showed a Full Scale IQ of 72. Verbal IQ was 70, and Performance IQ was 79." Haskins also stated that Teresa Lewis was and is able to make a plea agreement and enter pleas. Lewis's lawyer stated that, "She's not mentally retarded, but she is very, very close to it." In addition to a low IQ, Lewis was said by her lawyer to have an addiction to pain pills, and she was diagnosed with dependent personality disorder by three different forensic psychology experts.

Sentencing and appeals multiple image footer = A Supreme Court order showed that dissenting Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg (left) and Sonia Sotomayor would have granted a stay of execution. Her supporters stated that "Lewis is deeply remorseful and has been a model prisoner, helping fellow female inmates cope with their circumstances." Her father, Melvin C. Wilson Sr., testified how Lewis took care of her invalid mother prior to her death. stating: "Having carefully reviewed the petition for clemency, the judicial opinions in this case, and other relevant materials, I find no compelling reason to set aside the sentence that was imposed by the Circuit Court and affirmed by all reviewing courts."

Her attorneys filed a petition for a writ of certiorari and an application for stay of execution with the U.S. Supreme Court, but were denied on September 21, 2010. Dissenting Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor indicated that they would have granted a stay.

Execution Lewis's last meal consisted of two fried chicken breasts, sweet peas with butter, a Dr Pepper and apple pie for dessert. Lewis addressed stepdaughter Kathy Lewis Clifton, who came to witness her execution, to apologize for killing her brother and father.

I just want Kathy to know that I love you, and I'm very sorry.|Last words of Teresa Lewis|September 23, 2010 Lewis was executed on September 23, 2010, at 9:13 p.m. by lethal injection, at Greensville Correctional Center near Jarratt. This made her the 12th woman to be executed in the United States since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. Lewis was the first woman to be executed in Virginia by lethal injection; no woman had been executed in the state since Virginia Christian, who died in the electric chair in 1912. Lewis was also the first woman to be executed in the U.S. since Frances Newton in 2005 by the State of Texas, and the second woman to be executed since serial killer Aileen Wuornos in 2002 by the State of Florida. Richard Dieter, executive of the Death Penalty Information Center, argued that "so few women are involved in more heinous murders that, when they are, they cause greater offense than if they had been men. Virginia's attorney general really pushed the fact that she had committed adultery with a co-defendant and that she was somehow dishonored and should be looked down upon".

Ken Cuccinelli, then the Attorney General of Virginia, had stated that "the brutal nature of the crimes themselves as well as Lewis' callous, manipulating, adulterous, greedy, egregious behavior" justified the death sentence.

Thousands of supporters argued that her death sentence should have been commuted to life imprisonment. Lewis's attorney James E. Rocap III said, "A good and decent person is about to lose her life because of a system that is broken ... it is grossly unfair to impose the death sentence on her while Shallenberger and Fuller received life." Her low IQ also became a matter of discussion, with supporters citing this as a reason she should not have been sentenced to death. Executive director Larry Cox of Amnesty International, which opposes the death penalty under all circumstances, stated: "Proceeding with this execution would come dangerously close to violating the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits capital punishment for those with 'mental retardation' — a precedent established thanks to Atkins v. Virginia."