FILICIDE: Oregon: Angela McAnulty death sentence

February 25, 2011

EUGENE, Ore. -- An Oregon woman has been sentenced to death for torturing and killing her 15-year-old daughter.

After six hours of deliberation, a Lane County jury in Eugene decided Thursday that death was the appropriate penalty for Angela McAnulty, who pleaded guilty to aggravated murder on the day her trial was set to begin. Circuit Court Judge Kip Leonard then told the 42-year-old woman, "The court enters a sentence that you be executed by the state of Oregon."
The Register-Guard says McAnulty is the first woman in Oregon to be sentenced to death since state voters restored capital punishment in 1984.
McAnulty addressed jurors for the first time on Wednesday, acknowledging she fatally abused her daughter, Jeanette Maples, but adding: "I did not want my little girl to die." The teen died in 2009.
Jurors had to decide whether McAnulty should be sentenced to death or life in prison. Defense lawyers say they'll appeal the death sentence.
http://www.kgw.com/news/Jury-Ore-woman-should-die-for-killing-daughter-116914053.html

FILICIDE: Oregon: Downs

BEND, OR -- Diane Downs is scheduled for another parole hearing this week, and this could be the last one for a long time for the notorious child killer. Under a new state law, Oregon's Parole Board can lengthen the gap between parole hearings, on a case-by-case basis, for up to 10 years. The Lane County District Attorney recently wrote that offenders such as Diane Downs are the reason for the 2009 law.
Downs shot her three young children back in 1984, killing one of them. The D.A. has urged the Board to refuse her parole and suspend any further considerations for a decade. He said Downs has made no progress toward acknowledging her responsibility for the shooting.
Her latest parole hearing is scheduled for Friday.
http://www.mycentraloregon.com/news/local/1303576/Downs-Up-For-Parole-This-Week.html