Woman Condemned

Friends of Gaile Owens- The Tennessee Supreme Court today announced that it has denied the commutation request, filed on Friday, Feb. 5, on behalf of Gaile Owens. Governor Phil Bredesen is now the only person who can decide to commute Gaile’s sentence of the death penalty to life in prison. It is important now more than ever to show your support for Gaile. Please make your voice heard by calling or writing Governor Phil Bredesen. Visit the “learn more” section of www.friendsofgaile.com for more information about what you can do to show your support.

I have just finished reading Mommy’s Little Girl, Diane Fanning’s new book on the Casey Anthony debacle. I have kept up with this case but not to the lengths that some have. It is amazing how Fanning pours through the legal documents over the past few years and breaks it down to the earth shattering evidence for the rest of us. She gives good background information from interviews and police records on the Anthony family all the way back to the great parents, aunts and uncles participation in the family dynamics. I like being able to make my own judgments based on these detailed familial descriptions about who Casey Anthony is. Who Cindy Anthony is and what part her odd personality had in shaping Casey into such a warped character. I dont like that this book came out before the case is even close to being over. It seems so premature to me but what am I? -just a lowly Wanna Be true crime writer. I know neither the secret world of publishing (yet) nor the inner workings of the m

With so much happening with Gaile, who if not innocent is not quite guilty either, at least not deserving of a death sentence, I have given some thought latley to the women who do not have such gray area cases. Cases like Cynthia Coffman, Cynful Cyndi as she liked to be called. She claimed abuse also but had no documentation of it. She sits on California death row and has for many, many years. I also wonder about another California woman, Janeen Marie Snyder. She, 26, and her boyfriend, 50, kidnapped, raped and killed women . Then disposed of thier bodies. There are still bodies floating around that authorities believe she had something to do with but can not prove. She also claimed abuse and while psychologists agreed she was dominated by her  much older lover they said she was also a willing participant. The American Judicial Society said "Defense also presented evidence that Thorton had a sexual relationship with Snyder since age 13 and had a history of child abuse."

Tennessee Supreme Court is still deliberating whether to set an execution date for Tennessee death row inmate, Gaile Owens. The ruling could be announced any day. If the court sets a date, Gaile's last hope for clemency will rest with Governor Bredesen. Gaile has expressed remorse for her husband's murder and was willing to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence. She is a model inmate at the Tennessee Prison for Women where she works as a clerk. Recently, advocates for victims of domestic violence, such as the YWCA, have publicly asked that Gaile's sentence be commuted given the lack of resources available to battered women at the time of the crime. A recent review of nine similar cases featured in the Tennessean shows that over the past 25 years, six of the women in these cases have since received full probation or early parole, two others are serving life sentences but are entitled to parole hearings, and only one, Gaile Owens, is facing a death sentence after