IN - Shanda Sharer, 12, Madison, 11 January 1992

[believe09]

At the age of 15, I was a promiscuous alcoholic and drug addict who thought nothing of harming others to get what I wanted and needed. I never murdered, but I lied, stole, cheated, hurt people in my selfishness....etc...etc... By my late 20s, I wasn't that person at all because I was blessed with positive change.

I'm surely not that person today at the age of 41 and I believe that I give back positive things to the world.

I'm never a good person to tell that people can't change themselves completely because I have seen it happen so much in my own life and the lives of others.

But I understand that not everyone shares my perspective!

The key difference is that you didn't murder-I admire your growth and the journey you have taken, southcity. All teens lie, cheat and steal-some worse than other depending on how they have been raised. Some teen's experiment with drugs out of desperation, depression and a need to escape. But with all of that self confessed "weakness", south city, you did not torture a 12 year old to death over a period of 8-10 hours. I believe teens are impulsive and they have immature brains-but this activity falls outside of that biochemical excuse. And who those women are today is immaterial-what is the appropriate punishment for the crime? There are plenty of ways for them to do good deeds within the prison walls if they want to make restitution to society-help other women who will be leaving because of lesser crimes.

No disrespect

 

[deanws]

Sorry but I have to disagree. I am the same age and it should have never got that bad. I did some stupid crap as a young teen but murder wasn't one of those things. Shanda's mother never gets to see her baby again. She can tell her story from inside those prison walls for all I care

EXACTLY Mindi!!!! Good post.

 

[southcitymom]

The key difference is that you didn't murder-I admire your growth and the journey you have taken, southcity. All teens lie, cheat and steal-some worse than other depending on how they have been raised. Some teen's experiment with drugs out of desperation, depression and a need to escape. But with all of that self confessed "weakness", south city, you did not torture a 12 year old to death over a period of 8-10 hours. I believe teens are impulsive and they have immature brains-but this activity falls outside of that biochemical excuse. And who those women are today is immaterial-what is the appropriate punishment for the crime? There are plenty of ways for them to do good deeds within the prison walls if they want to make restitution to society-help other women who will be leaving because of lesser crimes.

No disrespect

None taken and I am happy to agree to disagree. I have/have had close relationships with murders/killers who have changed. The only reason I didn't kill anyone in my formative years and some years after (when I drove impaired constantly) is the grace of God.

Only time will tell if these women are a continued threat to society at large - I certainly don't feel less safe with them back among us. But I do understand that some people feel like justice can only be served within the confines of prison or via the DP.

 

[Annie]

She was a 15 year old CHILD at the time. I think she has paid her debt to society. As sad as the story is, and as bad as I feel for Shanda's mother, I still believe in prisoner rehabilitation and feel that this prisoner was rehabilitated.

She is now a 29 year old ADULT with a college education... She could go out into the world and speak out AGAINST violence. She could turn this tragedy into something positive by becoming a motivational speaker in violent high schools and talk to them about her story and what she did and how she not only ruined her life but the life of Shanda and Shanda's family by that one senseless act of violence.

She could do those things. But she could hurt someone else. I think she should stay in prison for a long, long time.

 

[crypto6]

None taken and I am happy to agree to disagree. I have/have had close relationships with murders/killers who have changed. The only reason I didn't kill anyone in my formative years and some years after (when I drove impaired constantly) is the grace of God.

Only time will tell if these women are a continued threat to society at large - I certainly don't feel less safe with them back among us. But I do understand that some people feel like justice can only be served within the confines of prison or via the DP.

Your willingness to testify to your former life amazes and lets me feel true hope for positive change. There is a line which you never would cross that these girls did. We're all proud of your accomplishments and you are different from them: You held the line. I understand your feelings but don't carry them with me in this case. If I am, let me know why I'm wrong from your perspective.

Respectfully,

Crypto6

 

[southcitymom]

Your willingness to testify to your former life amazes and lets me feel true hope for positive change. There is a line which you never would cross that these girls did. We're all proud of your accomplishments and you are different from them: You held the line. I understand your feelings but don't carry them with me in this case. If I am, let me know why I'm wrong from your perspective.

Respectfully,

Crypto6

You are kind Crypto. I do not find your (or other people here) to have a wrong perspective - just a different one from mine. I am extremely familiar with this case and just as horrified as everyone else here at what Shanda endured and at the brutality of the crimes against her.

I like to think - even in my addled and confused youth - that I would never have crossed the line these four girls did. There is not - and never has been - a cruel bone in my body. But I understand deeply the dynamics of youth, sexual confusion and passion, bullies and mob mentality. I have great hope for children who commit crimes. I believe they are more capable of change than older humans who do the same.

I'm not naive though. I understand that many young offenders only harden in prison and/or possess a sociopathic character that cannot effectively be changed in this lifetime.

It's just my opinion, rightly or wrongly, that there may be genuine hope for continued positive change for this woman being released. I highly doubt I would feel the same way about a 50-year-old pedophile murderer.

I also want to say that my empathy is huge for Shanda's family. They obviously don't believe or care if their daughters murderer has changed one single bit and I understand that position as well. More than anything, I pray for peace, acceptance and healing for all concerned.

 

[2sisters]

They didn't just burn her alive... they beat her, stabbed her, bashed her in the head and burned her... she lived quite a long time while they tortured her. These 4 monsters should have been treated the same way they treated Shanda...

Not to mention molested her, so I pity her poor mother who has to think about that daily. No the band of freaks that killed her. If they are truly sorry they will serve their time and shut the hell up and give this woman some peace.

 

[CaliKid]

Not to mention molested her, so I pity her poor mother who has to think about that daily. No the band of freaks that killed her. If they are truly sorry they will serve their time and shut the hell up and give this woman some peace.

True pennance means doing the time for the crime.

 

[lizzybeth]

True pennance means doing the time for the crime.

EXACTLY! I personally don't care if any of these women have turned into the next Mother Teresa; they should serve their sentence and IMO without the possiblity of parole...ever.

I will gladly forego any possible positive contributions they may give to society once released.

It's easy to go to classes and get a degree when you have nothing else to do. What happens when they get out of prison and they have all these other things in their lives...girlfriends? What happens when someone makes them jealous? I'm sorry (and I admire you for what you've accomplished South City Mom) but with the way these girls behaved while torturing Shanda makes me think that deep down they're just as sick and twisted as they were that night.

Satan has a special place for people like them.

 

[dee10134]

STEADFAST

vbmenu_register("postmenu_1776182", true);


"I agree that all people have good and all have bad in them, but I don't see what it has to do with an individual, even with some good qualities, serving a long, long prison term for torturing a little girl to death. Of course people change over the years, but there is no way someone changes from being capable of committing this heinous act to being a peaceful, loving member of society. I don't think being fifteen at the time of the attack excuses her in any way. She was plenty old enough to know the evil of her actions. The world will be better off with her locked up for as long as possible."

Where is your proof? Show me some sources of how there's "no way someone changes from being... [a murderer] ...to a peaceful, loving member of society."

What about Dog the Bounty Hunter who murdered someone but turned it around to benefit society? I'm certain there are other, less well known, examples as well.

Food for thought... Jesus, in teaching the apostles to pray, told them to forgive others as they hope and expect God to forgive them.
That means forgiving fully without conditions or without holding grudges.

 

[southcitymom]

STEADFAST

vbmenu_register("postmenu_1776182", true);


"I agree that all people have good and all have bad in them, but I don't see what it has to do with an individual, even with some good qualities, serving a long, long prison term for torturing a little girl to death. Of course people change over the years, but there is no way someone changes from being capable of committing this heinous act to being a peaceful, loving member of society. I don't think being fifteen at the time of the attack excuses her in any way. She was plenty old enough to know the evil of her actions. The world will be better off with her locked up for as long as possible."

Where is your proof? Show me some sources of how there's "no way someone changes from being... [a murderer] ...to a peaceful, loving member of society."

What about Dog the Bounty Hunter who murdered someone but turned it around to benefit society? I'm certain there are other, less well known, examples as well.

Food for thought... Jesus, in teaching the apostles to pray, told them to forgive others as they hope and expect God to forgive them.
That means forgiving fully without conditions or without holding grudges.

I absolutely believe that people who do terrible things can change and be a benefit to society.

I also believe that you can forgive someone and not hold a grudge and still want that person to remain in jail as a protection for the greater society.

Some people also believe that the only way justice can be served is if a person completes their entire jail sentence - it's not that they haven't forgiven the criminal, but rather they feel like the criminal owes this due, so to speak. I am not one of those people, but I can certainly see their point.

 

[believe09]

I am one of those people who believes that people can turn themselves around, some to a greater degree than others. However, what does the word "justice" mean in this case? What is a fair and reasonable punishment? What if the defendants had been less charming and with less of a capacity for educating themselves-what is the yardstick we would use then? This defendant got to a lovely person who was on a mission to save someone and convinced her that she fit the bill. Sounds a bit like a grift to me, but so be it...I am a little incredulous about jailhouse conversions anyway. All of this is beside the point-do we want truth in sentencing when it comes to this kind of violence?

This was not just murder-a bar room brawl with one punch too hard, in the heat of the moment pull the trigger wish you could take it back...this was over hours and hours...at anytime this defendant could have been the means to saving this life instead of extinguishing it.

We can turn the other cheek like the Catholic Church did; forgiving their priests and moving them around...giving them treatment and hoping they would change. It was madness-it created a climate of Church sanctioned rapists in some cases-God gave us the power to reason...how many times were you stung by a wasp before you figured out you should avoid them or kill them before they hurt you again?

 

[2sisters]

True pennance means doing the time for the crime.

That right there tells me they are not sorry at all, only sorry they were caught and are in jail.

 

[wasapi]

In a recent video interview, Shanda's mother says that there has been more than one woman who looked her up after having spent time in prison with Melinda Loveless. Each one has told her the same thing. Loveless, to this day, "relishes in being Shanda's murder". She is still bragging to inmates about what she did to Shanda.

Toni is out and has 2 children. She shows no remorse and denies any responsibility. For 10 hours Shanda was sodomized with a tire iron, slashed with a knife and then cleaning fluid poured on the injuries, choked, beaten, burned. For 10 hours. Toni had many chances to do something to save Shanda. People testified that while eating breakfast (after burning Shanda to death) they were ALL laughing and ALL making jokes that their sausages looked like Shanda while she burned.

These 4 are sociopaths. I am restricted from naming or giving the occupation of someone whose position keeps them in contact, sometimes as often as weekly, with Loveless. It is clear that she is sociopathic and should NEVER be released.

I find it an outrageous injustice that 2 of these creatures are already out. Shanda's mother says that she always prayed she would be dead before any of them were released. Shanda's father was never able to deal with not only his daughters death, but HOW she died and the 10 HOURS of brutal torture leading up to it. He passed away a year or two ago.

Of course none of us are who we were when we were 15 or 16. I was far from a good teenager, and engaged in some pretty nasty habits. But please don't insult us with comparison to these 4 creatures changing. I firmly believe they are all sociopaths, and sociopaths change, sure. They get more cunning, better at charming people into believing they are cured of criminal behavior.

But what they did for those 10 hours to a helpless 12 year old so surpasses criminal behavior. To committ what the 4 of them did is pure evil. I believe they are all evil to their core and should have all never seen the outside of a prison.

There has not been justice for Shanda.

 

[j2mirish]

None taken and I am happy to agree to disagree. I have/have had close relationships with murders/killers who have changed. The only reason I didn't kill anyone in my formative years and some years after (when I drove impaired constantly) is the grace of God.

Only time will tell if these women are a continued threat to society at large - I certainly don't feel less safe with them back among us. But I do understand that some people feel like justice can only be served within the confines of prison or via the DP.

keep in mind my borther in law was killed by a drunk driver, so I dont want anyone to think, I think a dui is no big deal---- but it is apples an oranges compared to the INTENTIONAL toture and murder these girls PURPOSELY PLANNED AND COMMITED-sorry scm- you and I love each other- but as usual soooooooooo disagree when it comes to this

 

[j2mirish]

You are kind Crypto. I do not find your (or other people here) to have a wrong perspective - just a different one from mine. I am extremely familiar with this case and just as horrified as everyone else here at what Shanda endured and at the brutality of the crimes against her.

I like to think - even in my addled and confused youth - that I would never have crossed the line these four girls did. There is not - and never has been - a cruel bone in my body. But I understand deeply the dynamics of youth, sexual confusion and passion, bullies and mob mentality. I have great hope for children who commit crimes. I believe they are more capable of change than older humans who do the same.

I'm not naive though. I understand that many young offenders only harden in prison and/or possess a sociopathic character that cannot effectively be changed in this lifetime.

It's just my opinion, rightly or wrongly, that there may be genuine hope for continued positive change for this woman being released. I highly doubt I would feel the same way about a 50-year-old pedophile murderer.

I also want to say that my empathy is huge for Shanda's family. They obviously don't believe or care if their daughters murderer has changed one single bit and I understand that position as well. More than anything, I pray for peace, acceptance and healing for all concerned.

cant say that I would care much either to be very honest- her murder was not an accident

 

[southcitymom]

keep in mind my borther in law was killed by a drunk driver, so I dont want anyone to think, I think a dui is no big deal---- but it is apples an oranges compared to the INTENTIONAL toture and murder these girls PURPOSELY PLANNED AND COMMITED-sorry scm- you and I love each other- but as usual soooooooooo disagree when it comes to this

I still adore you and surely hear your point. I am so sorry about your BIL, j2mirish! :blowkiss:

 

[Talisman]

Just bumping this for Shanda. She will never leave my heart.

And IIRC the date set for Loveless's is Dec. 6th. Hopefully the petition will help Jacque keep her in jail.


Shanda Sharer should have a least a little justice. 2 of the beasts are living free among us, one of them reproducing ( I feel sorry for her children IMO)

 

[Mygirlsadie]

Ugh everytime I hear about this case it brings that deep down sick pit in my stomach feeling... I have a teenage daughter and I can see how mean and hateful other girls can be for no reason other then she is a very pretty girl. I feel so so so sorry for her mom I can't even imagine how she can go on everyday. To me it would be a everyday torture until the day I died. I am sorry but in this case if it were me I would probably have to take the law into my own hands.

 

[Filly]

This poor, poor, poor mother. Fighting for justice is what has to be keeping her going. My family member was murdered. I was too young to have even understood, but through the years I didn't understand why only ONE person in the family went to the trials. To sit and listen how your loved one who never in their life was anything but a good father, husband, brother, uncle, and friend and then to look at four lousy, creeps and listen how they accidently blew your loved one away with a shotgun while only getting $48.00 and some change I am kind of understanding now. It's horrific crimes against innocents that just tears me apart. We've also been told not to speak of it and I do know all four of my loved ones murderers are walking around free and easy as I write this. Where is justice? Justice for this poor child?