Woman kills Pearl Harbor veteran with hatchet

[New Dealer]

Woman Convicted in Pa. Hatchet Slaying

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. (AP) - A woman was convicted Monday of murdering her neighbor with a hatchet, striking the 83-year-old Pearl Harbor veteran nearly 70 times as he begged for his life.
Prosecutors said 25-year-old Shonda D. Walter carried out the attack because she wanted to join a gang, and one of the initiation requirements was to commit a crime. She also stole $500 in quarters from the veteran and drove away in his Toyota Camry.

The jury took less than 30 minutes to convict Walter of first-degree murder in the slaying of James Sementelli.

Witnesses at the trial testified that Walter said she took a break during the slaying to recite the Lord's Prayer, etched a cross in the veteran's stomach as he neared death, then watched TV and ate a bowl of ice cream before making off with his car and money.

``We thought that the evidence was overwhelming and, obviously, the jury did too,'' District Attorney Ted McKnight said.

Defense attorney Stephen Smith said he was disappointed but not surprised by the verdict.

Several dozen members of Sementelli's family cried and hugged each other as the verdict was read.

``That's no way for anyone to be treated. I hope it never happens to anyone ever again,'' said William Sementelli, the victim's brother.

After the verdict was announced, the jury began deliberations to decide if Walter should receive the death penalty or life in prison.

Sementelli grew up in Lock Haven and was stationed at the Army's Fort Weaver on Oahu when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. After the war, he returned to Lock Haven, where he worked as a taxi driver, in the post office and at a paper mill.

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/story.jsp?idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20050418%2F1646002044.htm&sc=1110

This is why I support the death penalty...

[jsw_81]

1. Death penalty

A needle in the arm is no punishment at all. This sick bitch deserves 50+ years hard labor.

[opihimoimoi]

5. If there ever was a need for STONING, and I don't mean MJ., this is it

Clearly this Human Race could do without humans of this level.

DEATH BY STONING sez the OPI

Come, we go find ice cream, the Rocky Kine.

[mikelgb]

10. and i nominate you,

oh righteous one, to cast the first stone

[AtTheEndOfTheDay]

26. I nominate myself.

Probably have to have an election.

[opihimoimoi]

68. They have professional Stoners out there at Stones R Us

Willing and able to cast stones for a Buck or Two. Why should I dirty my mind with stones. Why not have her as your neighbor....

[Debs]

69. You dont show people mercy because they deserve it

Rather, because you CAN. Because we should be the kind of people that show mercy. The things we do to people are not about who THEY are, rather the things we do to people define who WE are.

[AnneD]

6. Amen...

And she needs to have a mural of her victim in the cell(including the crime scene) that she can look at every day for the rest of her life. Any extra money she earns in prison goes to the victims family.

[Warpy]

7. This is why I DO NOT support the death penalty

The state becomes as barbaric as the murderer is when they exact it.

Throw the little bitch into jail and keep her there until she's old and tired and incapable of committing any more crimes.

[Kralizec]

25. All of you who want to kill her, I challenge you:

You realize that this girl probably WANTS to be given the death penalty. It's no longer a punishment at that point. Most people who commit murders like this are already so insane, or a sociopath, and the death penalty would probably be received with open arms.

So if you want to give mercy and quick way out for horrible murders, be my guest. I say keep them in a place where they can't do harm and let them be with their thoughts as they die a slow death of aging.

My challenge, are you willing to be so cold as to commit someone to a lifetime of misery for their crimes?

As of now you let them get off easy by just killing 'em.

[enki23]

33. well, that one is pretty easy to test.

do death row inmates accept the end with "open arms?" i think the answer to that is a pretty clear *no*

best move on to a new justification. that one doesn't pan out so well in the really real world.

[Kralizec]

40. I just find it hard to understand how you people

think that ending the person's life makes their punishment harder. No one really knows what happens after death, but I can bet it is a lot better than living in a tough prison (DU prison article). And if it WAS worse than that, say like HELL, then why not make them go through some hard prison time and let them grow familiar with the place they will die in. Otherwise, it's a really easy way out, whether they want to do it or not. If you really want to make them suffer, make them live.

You move on.

[cprise]

41. so much for the "real world"

there's no way you can prove that statistically or otherwise. in fact it is the opposite: the death penalty makes life all that much cheaper and you can see that reflected in our society's high homicide rate.

whatever deters people from killing each other doesn't matter on death row, but far earlier before the act can be committed.
at the moment when a person hates someone enough to kill, they also hate their own life too. knowing that the rest of one's long, natural life could be spent remorseful and totally alienated from society is possibly the greatest deterrent imaginable.

[enki23]

45. huh?

for the record, i'm *opposed* to the death penalty. that doesn't make the rationalization above make any more sense, however. and in any case, i'm opposed to it based on a line of reasoning whish isn't really directly dependent on whether or not it is "moral" for the state to kill a killer. my reasoning for opposing the death penalty is that i would argue it's ujust to impose the death penalty in such a way that it is not evenly applied regardless of race, sex, color, creed, or ideology, and only just so long as it is certain in every case that no innocent would ever be executed. in other words, the conditions i apply would be so difficult to meet that i sincerely doubt i could ever sanction actual application of the death penalty by any real world criminal justice system.

[420inTN]

67. If she wants the death penalty...

then I don't have a problem with assisting her in her "suicide".

[all.of.me]

36. i agree

the death penalty just releases them! it pains their families, but it is the criminal that needs to be pained. the death penalty is just more evidence of our society's fear of death. death is horrible, so let's do it to someone who's committed a heinous crime.

it's also full of hypocrisy - killing someone as punishment for killing someone. that makes NO sense!! what mixed messages!

[libertad]

54. I concur.

nt

[Liberal Veteran]

2. Because you find this particular crime heinous?

I agree it's heinous, but how many wrongly convicted people excuted would it take to alter your stance?

Is killing her going to make society safer than life without parole?

[BadNews]

11. That is not the issue to me.

I have a good bit of faith in our judicial system. It is certainly the best system currently available. Will there be errors? Sure. But the vast majority of those convicted are guilty. Many not convicted (OJ) are also guilty. By the same logic, no penalty should ever be given because someone might have been wrongfully convicted. The ability to regain financial restitution if wrongly convicted is not a valid argument in favor to life sentences over death sentences to me. In fact, more people may be wrongly convicted if the jury knows that an error on their part will not cause the death of an innocent person accused of a crime.

I simply oppose the death penalty because I don't believe the state should be authorized to take lives. Even if the person is guilty, I prefer their imprisonment.

[xchrom]

30. uh ''vast majority''?

even if i were for the death penalty -- that's bad thinking -- it's not an election.

and nooo -- a life sentence will always return SOMETHING to those wrongly convicted.
no one has come back from the grave.

[trotsky]

3. And if every case were so incredibly clear-cut...

it would be easy to enforce the death penalty.

But they're not. There are varying shades of guilt and innocence in most trials, and I don't think we should be deciding just where that line is where "enough" evidence is found.

Besides, like the poster said above, a quick painless death is too good for this monster. Let her rot in a prison cell.

[Cooley Hurd]

4. I don't support the death penalty...

...but I firmly believe this person belongs behind bars for the rest of their life with not even the slightest chance of parole.

What she did was the very definiton of "cold-blooded."

[doodadem]

8. Isn't 25 a little old to be joining a gang?

I don't know about such things, but I've always thought it was a youth sport. As for the requirement of committing a crime, I bet they were thinking more along the lines of shoplifting........

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[KamaAina]

20. I don't know of any murderers who have Asperger's

someone here recently suggested that Randall Yates might be autistic. The right answer came back a few minutes later: "Sociopathic, maybe, but not autistic."

It's tough enough trying to get over as a person with a pervasive developmental disorder without people thinking that bizarre, criminal behavior like this is a symptom!

[petronius]

12. Other gang members?

I wonder if the gang members who developed this initiation ritual could also be prosecuted for murder. Even if they expected something like shoplifting, they still created the conditions that led to murder. Perhaps if the the prosecutor threatens the murderer with the death penalty, she will testify against other gangsters in exchange for life (and yes, I watch way too much TV - my ideas on how courts work all come from L&O).

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. If they can prove it,

they cuold try RICO, problem is, gang members usually don't "rat" on each other

[nadinbrzezinski]

22. Nio and no

There are gangs that take older members

Also many gangs require a hard crime as part of the initiation, this may include murder or the murder of a police officer.

Initiations also involve a beat in, which literally leaves the inititaite in some cases one step from death.. that is how severe they can be.. or just plain out dead.

As to the death penalty... I am, and have always been against it, except one case... High Treason...

[muz]

51. Why treason?

just interested....what's the reason for your exception and how do you justify your opposition for other instances?

[Piperay]

52. I would imagine it is because

more repugs commit treason.

[RPM]

64. perhaps... but this is a decimated former industrial area

they have not fared well in the last 30 years - gangs, booze & drugs big in those parts. scary places they can be.

[lateo]

13. Throw her to the lions...

It would be nice to see them snack on her.

[StaggerLee]

14. Not to change the subject

The victim drove a Toyota.

I'll bet there aren't many WWII vets that drive Japanese cars. Especially Pearl Harbor survivors.

Definitely not something you see every day.

Rest in peace Mr Sementelli. :patriot:

[signmike]

19. You beat me to it. Pearl harbor vet drove --- a Japanese car?

[DS1]

15. She could have just keyed his car, or flipped his plantbed, or found

someone much younger and able to deal with her.

Instead she went after a frail old man, which would NEVER pass initiation muster in MY gang because it's such a chickenshit thing to do.

I concur with first reply writer: Death Penalty.

[CO Liberal]

16. Yet Another Good Christian

Witnesses at the trial testified that Walter said she took a break during the slaying to recite the Lord's Prayer, etched a cross in the veteran's stomach as he neared death, then watched TV and ate a bowl of ice cream before making off with his car and money.

[Anakin Skywalker]

29. Yes, I Find That Very Ironic Too.

Why do these scumbag gang members bother to be "religious"? The irony is just too damn rich!

[seriousstan]

34. Good Christian? I guess you don't understand individuality.

Shall I point out all the crime the "good Dems" or the "good animal rights activists" do? So put down your broad brush. (And maybe read the rules, especially the Bigotry and Broad-Brush Smears rules)

I believe she was simply taunting a dying man.

[CO Liberal]

37. I Used a Very Narrow Brush

Painting one individual based on her actions.

Chill.

[seriousstan]

42. You mean like me saying "Another good liberal, just showing

their disrespect for other's religion"?

OK, I get it. :sarcasm:

Get real, you, I and everyone reading the post know exactly what you meant. If you want to lie to yourself, fine but don't expect me to support you delusion.

Chili

[CO Liberal]

46. If You Don't Like What I Have To Say...

...then I invite you to either alert the mods or put me on "Ignore".

[Mnemosyne]

17. 70 times! She sounds psychotic.

Lock her away and never let her out. Thorazine sounds in order. IMO

[Crunchy Frog]

18. I don't support the death penalty

but I can't say that I feel particularly bad about its being applied in this particular case.

[SKKY]

21. Yep, she should fry.

[BadNews]

32. Am I still on Democratic underground?

Wow, while I will admit that it is nice to see a difference of opinion, on this issue it was unexpected for me.

The death penalty is not one of the issues I see as important for this country so I'm not going to make a big deal of not agreeing with most of you here. It is sufficient to say that I don't think the government should be taking the lives of their citizens. For me, I believe she has purchased a one way ticket to hell. Lock her up for the rest of her life. Eternity will be no picnic for her.

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

47. yeah, let her have babies in Jail and pass on her traits to offspring-free

free room and board, conjugal visits, T.V., movies,--Yeah and maybe the guards will get her pregnant and your kids can have some encounters in a dark alley with her kids when they grow up.

Lethal injection-no leniency

[SKKY]

49. And I would rather have her "Eternity" begin ASAP. Just MHO.

[bluestateguy]

24. Execute her

I kind of like the idea of going back to drownings as a method of execution.

[truthisfreedom]

27. wtf is up with all of this death and destruction here in DU? this is a

sensational case. let the judge and jury handle it, people. we have bigger fish to fry here.

[Paco]

28. That is why I.....

Support Abortion!!!
:dem:

[Adelante]

31. What a terrible story

Poor old guy.

[Javaman]

35. Although this is a hideous crime, I still don't support the death penalty.

Lifers should:
1) have no access to outside information, family or friends
2) have no extras provided for people on good behavior
3) have no contact at all with any other of the inmates

Only the basics should be provided. Clothing, food and a toilet. Nothing more. Live like that for 50 + years and suddenly you get an idea of how truly horrible life in prison is over the death penalty.

[Stuckinthebush]

38. Death is too easy for her

Screw that.

Life in prison without parole. Let's see what kind of miserable existence she has had when she is 83 years old.

Yep...58 years behind bars because of a sick, twisted crime. That, my friends, is much worse than letting her off with death.

That is why I don't support the death penalty. It's too damn easy.

[Save The World]

39. I say lock her up in solitary

Then check in in about a month or so to retrieve the corpse.

[Melynn]

43. I've been against the death penalty in the past

but with those kid-killing child molesters in Florida and this case, I'm starting to rethink my position.

[Trajan]

44. One case ? ...

You are using ONE specific case to rationalize a general conclusion ? ...

Isnt this some sort of fallacy ? ...

[tinonedown]

50. Yea, you are right

It's just one case, one old man.
What does he matter anyway, huh?
He would have died soon anyway.

[Trajan]

59. What a cynical response ....

As if I dont care about murdered human beings .... Would it please you to kill this girl yourself ? .. would you feel all better then ? ...

Yes: this presentation is FULL of fallacious assertions ... from emotional appeal to fallacy of accident to non sequitur ....

Your trite humor aside: your wrong ...

[tinonedown]

66. you are right

It was a cynical response, maybe better just left untyped. Sorry.

[barb162]

48. I am wondering if there was an insanity plea,

hatchet, pray, carve the guy's stomach, eat ice cream. If that doesn't meet everyone's definition of totally crazy, what does? Sounds like a real sociopath except sociopaths don't pray

[Piperay]

53. Sickening

my father is that same age and when I think of someone small and frail like my father being hacked to death by some strapping 25 year old ... :cry: then :mad: :mad: :mad: !!!

[Darth_Kitten]

55. This is really too sick

How terrible. :(

[minorl]

56. Support our troops...

Give her an SUV and set her loose in the impact range during an artillery or tank shoot so our troops can practice on a moving target...then again, she might get lucky and survive. Disregard that suggestion.

I deferr to the 12 jurors of her peers, but I would rather not have to pay for one more unworth mouth to feed in our already over-crowded prison system.

I'm on the fence on the Death penalty--too many horror stories of people being unjustly convicted with bad evidence and such...but with DNA testing and more definitive ways to "prove" someone's guilt, and like someone mentioned elsewhere today's child molesters and people like this twisted Beeatch...well, that's the other side of the fence.

L

[bleedingheart]

57. She is broken, there is really no way to fix her...

she lacks compassion, empathy and any ability to care.

I truly believe a life in prison would be better for her.

I wonder what kind of home life leads someone to commit this kind of heinous crime.

[Debs]

70. she lacks compassion, empathy and any ability to care.

Sounds like she is ready to run for president...as a republican

[Orsino]

58. Murder and GTA are gangsta enough, I guess...

...but I would disqualify anyone who stole any amount of money in quarters. That's just not right. It just ain't hard.

"It's all about the Georges."

[Responsibility_1]

60. What to do with the Criminal?

I hate to start with this topic.....If this woman is guilty as charged and given a capital sentence why don’t we as a society just call her life ended and give her living body to the medical research community? I know it may sound a little creepy, but then these people owe society and if it helps create cures for Cancer, Aids, whatever it would be somewhat of a debt paid back.

[Megahurtz]

61. That's just behond sickening comprehension

:puke:

[BreweryYardRat]

62. WTF?

Jesus Christ, how the hell can anyone be that fucked up?

Death penalty time-although, really, the standard needle in the arm isn't nearly enough for this bitch. Something extra nasty is in order.

My idea:

Skin her alive, douse her in gasoline, and light the worthless bitch on fire.

That or the "human lab rat" idea works fairly well.

[Trajan]

63. I am beginning to think ...

You might be worse than her ....

[Responsibility_1]

65. To the benefit of mankind

I do not advocate this measure for anyone but the most extreme Capital crime cases. When sentence is pronounced That persons life is condemned. In reality they are dead to society in general but still owe us as a society a debt yet un fulfilled. Medical research could do wonders if allowed to use these vestiges as a resource when all appeals end. They owe us this in retrospect.