While reading about the Starkweather/Fugate spree killings in the 1950s I found out about a similar case in Canada involving another underaged female and adult male partner killing team, Richardson and Steinke. Jasmine Richardson, a minor, was just sentenced in July 2007. At that time, Steinke still was awaiting trial (Updates anyone following that case?).

Why is it that the female halves seem to get off lighter? Fugate is out and has been out and working in the medical arena today. Richardson got a few years. Starkweather got death. Steinke probably will, too.

Do you think it really is only that they happened to be underage when the crimes were committed? Or do you think it is a reluctance to believe daughters could do this, REALLY, without some other undue force or mental issue at play?

linkies: to the Richardson/Steinke info
http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murd...weather/17.html

to the Starkweather/Fugate case:
http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murd...er/index_1.html

NS

It think it is that they play how weak the women are and impressionable. Look at the Bernardo/Homolka case. She helped him rape and kill her own sister, but she got off lighter because she claimed she was scared of him and under his power, basically.

Speaking of Starkweather and Fugate, found this:

Starkweather and Fugate Special Report 50 years after

http://www.journalstar.com/special_reports/starkweather/


NS

Whenever you have a criminal team made up of a 23-year-old man (Steinke) and a 12-year-old girl (Richardson) isn't it only natural to assume that the older member of that duo exerts much more control over the situation than the younger, and is therefore the more criminally liable of the pair? It's difficult to imagine a 12-year-old and a 23-year-old being equal in anything.

Likewise Starkweather was 19 and Fugate a mere 13.

I understand that, but in general, it has held true even when it hasn't been such a difference in age. I was mostly just verbalizing that we have trouble believing that women are as capable as men of terrible deeds.

Increasingly, we are seeing extreme crimes being done by technical children, and sentencing is a new issue as difficult for us as a society to determine what is "fair".

Just my thoughts around 3 am here .

Thanks for your observation, OTR,
NS