Women Who Kill - I Think Amanda Lewis is Innocent...

[MrSnow]

Did anyone else see this last night?

I delved a little deeper into the case after watching the programme and I'm in no doubt that Amanda Lewis shouldn't be in jail.

Some of the glaringly obvious points are:

The finger marks on the head couldn't have been made whilst the child was in the pool. There would be no resistance to the head, they could only have been made whilst giving CPR which isn't what was told to the court by the coroner.

How did AJ manage to see the hand covering the child's face, he simply isn't tall enough to see over and down into the pool?

Would be interested to hear other people's opinions. How on earth this woman was given life imprison when the American justice system is based on "beyond reasonable doubt" is a mystery to me..

[Inkanta]

Yes - my instinct was that she was innocent as well.

I agree that those bruises didn't seem to fit being made in the way they said they were, and more likely to be made when trying to revive her.

She also passed a lie detector test and the guy who took it thought she was innocent.

[Inkanta]

The boy who gave evidence is 15 now. It makes me wonder if he has recalled things differently as he's got older.

[Sidge]

I watched it and found her case very inconsistent. It seems that there were some parenting issues (poor hygiene, lack of toys, she was struggling with working and parenting) but they don't make her necessarily guilty of drowning her daughter.

I also found it astonishing that they would put a 7 year old on the stand in the courtroom. He didn't even recognise his mum. I also read that his testimony may have been influenced by his mum's stepfather who by all accounts hated her.

A really sad case.

[Sidge]

I watched it and found her case very inconsistent.

Sorry should have worded that better - I mean the prosecution case against her. It seemed weak to me.

[Inkanta]

'I also read that his testimony may have been influenced by his mum's stepfather who by all accounts hated her.'

Right. I wondered about that. The boy spent time with these grandparents straight after the incident - and could have been subject to their suggestibility I thought.

[gracefull]

I think seven year old could have seen over the edge of the pool from what was said. It wasn't that deep, It was even said on the programme that it was shallow enough for a child to just stand up and be out of the water... why didn't she, if she wasn't being held?
Equally when her son recalled seeing the mother holding the child's face he looked thoroughly disturbed by the memory. I'm not convinced that a child can make up something that serious.
I agree there are inconsistencies, didn't get a gut instinct that she was innocent though.

[member]

Interesting what you've found. My gut instinct was that she wasn't guilty for most of the way through until they revealed the bruising, then I was less sure. I was also fighting the "believe what a child says" urges.

I think there's enough doubt to not have convicted her; imagine if she'd been given the death penalty ?

I wonder how AJ has fared since his adoption; I can't imagine his feelings on the whole thing.

[member]

Ah, wondered about the grandparents AJ went to immediately after because it had aleady said that Amanda's parents had split

[Inkanta]

'I was also fighting the "believe what a child says" urges.'

Me too.The boys account was convincing and congruent with emotions on his face. He believed that's what he saw, - it was his truth.

I was in awe of him at the same time. He could have been inclined to protect his mum and not get her trouble.

[member]

Just started looking a bit deeper in light of this thread; that poor child's testimony in court was much more confused than the programme last night showed. As a result, the prosecution tended to rely on the video recorded at the police station where the interviewer was inexperienced in questioning children.

The step grandfather was" Paw Chuck", I honestly doubt that AJ spontaneously disclosed that his mother drowned Adrianna. I think there's been leading questions/suggestion & a child trying to get things "right"/please adults.

[LoisWilkersonsLastNerve]

I don't know if she did it or not but she shouldn't have been found guilty on such flimsy evidence. Very sad.

[Inkanta]

It also occurred to me that the son could have been involved in the sister's death. It may have been an accident still, but he could have blamed his mum

I would imagine that a 6 year old knows that giving this version of events (that the son gave) will almost certainly ensure his mother goes to prison and he won't see her again.

That seems significant to me. You're not daft at at that age and most kids would want to protect their parents and ensure they don't lose them. Something doesn't fee right.

[Madbengalmum]

The other woman featured however, seemed guilty of her crime and really odd to me.

[imjessie]

I wasn't sure , I was swinging both ways during the interview . Not as weird as the girls last week though! She was scary !

[RainbowsAndUnicorns5]

I thought it odd she was emotionless
No sheets on the bed, a mattress soaked in urine, no toys in the house
Why didn't Adrianna stand up?
A child drowned in her care
I'm not going to rush to support her

[MrSnow]

What has struck me most about this case is that no one gives a sh*t. Her entire campaign to prove her innocence amounts to 350 like on her facebook page.

It would be great if just one of you like her page "Amanda Lewis is Innocent"

If they get the crowdfunding page of the ground I will donate and think I'll even drop her a line.

[MrSnow]

I thought it odd she was emotionless

She's been in prison for 8 years for something she didn't do, this was her first publicity, she was trying to be calm and collected.

No sheets on the bed, a mattress soaked in urine, no toys in the house confused

Does that make her a killer? The toys, apparently, were locked up in the shed (with the ladder for the pool) as a punishment

Why didn't Adrianna stand up?

The height of Adrianna and the depth of the pool is unclear, however, if you fall into a pool and inhale a lot of water then panic can easily over come you.

A child drowned in her care

Drowning in Florida is the second most cause of Child accidental deaths.

[cupidsgame]

Would rescutitating have caused that kind of bruising though. Also it was a shallow pool very easy to have just stood up and climbed out. I thought the mother seemed very resigned to her fate, if she was innocent you would think she'd be more vocal and outraged about the injustice. There were no tears for her daughter either. I definitely think she was guilty.

[imjessie]

If she killed her why do we think she did ? Because she snapped or something more sinister ? Her 911 call was very realistic at the beginning if you listen to it . And she passed the lie detector test .

[cupidsgame]

Probably the same reason any mother kills her child. I suppose only they could tell you. I don't think there'd be a motive.

[finova]

I think psychopaths/sociopaths can pass lie detectors.

[bibbitybobbityyhat]

"It would be great if just one you like her page Amanda Lewis is innocent"

I can't believe my eyes!? Why would you encourage anyone to do such a thing? None of us on Mumsnet know enough about this case to form any sort of safe opinion.

Fgs, don't get carried away.

[MyDobbygotgivenasock]

I haven't looked into it enough to form an opinion on the facts presented but I think it's ridiculous to lend any weight to the prosecuter (iirc) saying 'Why didn't she just stand up like she had done before?' that's a foolish assertion in a child drowning. Particularly if there may have been an accidental fall into the pool.
Many children (and some adults) have drowned in levels of water that could have been sat or stood up in. That's discounting hitting of heads.

I'm prepared to believe AJ could have been traumatised by his sister panicking and his mother grappling to get her out of the pool and his recollection is traumatised, faulty or coached. I'm also prepared to belive he saw what he said, not on the basis of the TV show though.
I'm also not surprised she could keep it together, she did in court until the verdict. Also it's not uncommon to be utterly numb after traumatic sudden incidents. It's been 8 years, the explanation for her demeanor could be anything.
I also hate lie detectors, they're just not a valid technique it seems to be accepted that they are if you fail on cue but if you pass when they don't want you to their credence is quickly discounted.
When I have time it will be interesting to see everything presented to the court. She got a quick trial by media too.

[MrSnow]

Would rescutitating have caused that kind of bruising though. Also it was a shallow pool very easy to have just stood up and climbed out

Yes, definitely.

The pool had around 4 foot of water in, as mentioned, if you fall in and swallow a lot of water and you only have a couple of inches to play with, you can easily drown, that's for an adult, let alone a small child.

[MrSnow]

Why would you encourage anyone to do such a thing?

Because if you scratch the surface of the case, like I have, you can be left with no opinion other than she's innocent.