When the verdict came down, I couldn't believe it--- Melissa Lewis carried a knife in her purse as she rode in the back seat of the car her victim was driving --- and she stabbed him to death.
The woman brought a knife in her purse. Who carries a knife in their purse? And who, while sitting in the back seat of a car, feels so threatened by the person driving, that they reach into their purse, grab the knife they just happened to bring along, and thrust the knife into the driver's neck?
How on earth could she have believed she was in imminent danger, even if her victim, the driver of the car, WAS reaching for a gun? How does a jury acquit that person of murder and say that the killing was *justifiable*.
If you feel that threatened by a person, maybe your shouldn't be in a car with them ... instead Melissa Lewis figured she'd just bring along a knife and get rid of the threat forever. If she'd been a man, I don't think she'd have been acquitted no matter HOW threatening the victim might have been in the past or seemed at the time.
Justice should be the same regardless of gender. Thankfully, the Crown is appealing.
canadianna
2 comments:
what type of knife was it? a pocket knife a hunting knife or a kitchen knife?
I carry a pocket knife quite often. They are handy little things and not always so little.
Have you ever been hit or even threatened by some you trust?
Didn't read much of story in the news as I get sick to my stomach hearing about abuse cases.
But how long had the abuse been going on? Maybe the only way she could escape the man was from the back seat of the family car.
She could have been planning on escaping the only way she knew how for many years. Is that premeditated murder or premeditated escape? There is a difference.
As a child I was in a very abusive home. Not physical abuse but intimidation and mental abuse.
People who knew my father would never think he was the type of monster he was at home. But you cannot imagine how many ways I came up with to get rid of the man. I never did and he died 5 years ago and nobody can figure out why I didn't sob and wale over his coffin. I did go to the funeral and at the coffin all I said was "you can't hurt me anymore"
I do not condone murder but I can understand how someone can commit it in a way of escaping someone who is terrorizing them and they feel they have no other option.
Don't be quick to judge the woman. Even if she is found guilty in the appeal she is actually free of the monster she found she was living with.
Free at last . . .
My personal history is none of your business and has no bearing on my opinion of this case.
It was a 12 inch knife. You can read some of the details on the title link if you like.
Justifiable homicide is a valid argument when the perpetrator reasonably believes he/she is in imminent danger. Lewis said she thought Gillespe was reaching for an gun under the front seat (where the victim was sitting). That meant he had his back to the murderer and was leaning down when she plunged the knife in -- but, btw, the gun she feared, wasn't there. There was a seat between them, he was leaning forward, away from her--- in my opinion, that doesn't constitute a threat.
And what would this woman have done if she had missed him, and in an ensuing struggle, she, her 6 year old daughter or her father had been killed? Would her 12 inch knife have been justified then or would the man have been to blame then too?
You suggest that I shouldn't be quick to judge a person who thrust a 12 inch knife into the neck of her victim because she might have been trying to escape an abusive relationship. It seems to me that YOU are the one who has been quick to judge both this woman and her victim.
Post a Comment