By David Lohr
December 10, 2007
MADISON, IN (Crime Library) — Thirty-one-year-old Melinda Loveless appeared in court last week, for a hearing to determine if she should get out of jail early for her role in the 1992 torture and murder of 12-year-old Shanda Renee' Sharer.
During the court proceedings, held on December 6, 2007, Loveless's attorney, Mark Small of Indianapolis, argued that his clients sentencing rights were violated and that she had received insufficient legal representation during her original trial.
"Melinda Loveless was 16 at the time. She was not competent to enter into a contract with the state of Indiana," Small said.
 |
| Melinda Loveless |
When Loveless took the stand, she told Jefferson Circuit Judge Ted Todd that she could not remember most of the legal proceedings that had taken place before she signed her original plea deal, but that it had been her belief that she would receive the death sentence if she failed to accept it.
Jefferson County Prosecutor Chad Lewis disagreed with Small. During a recent interview with News-tribune.net, Lewis balked at claims that Loveless had ineffective counsel.
"She had three attorneys, two who were very high-profile with death penalty cases," Lewis said. "She had a dream team, so to speak... [She] also had a proven benefit to pleading guilty to the charges in that she avoided the death penalty."
Shanda's mother, Jacque Vaught, also found Loveless' defense ludicrous.
"It didn't take her just a moment to do it, it took her 10 hours to do it," Vaught told WHAS11.com. "And there was planning, getting Shanda out of the house, and all kinds of different things. She knew exactly what she was doing. And she's always known what she was doing. She knows what she's doing now."
Next Page
default
increase
decrease
email
print