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Post by Scumhunter on Sept 3, 2013 16:37:23 GMT -5
A judge has ruled against a new trial for infamous AMW direct capture #1051 Sarah Pender. Pender was convicted of convincing her boyfriend Richard Hull to kill their two roommates in an argument over 150 dollars in drug money. Pender escaped prison in 2008 with the help of her girlfriend and a male security guard she promised to pay 10,000 dollars after she escaped. She placed on both the US Marshals 15 Most Wanted list and named John Walsh's #5 Most Wanted fugitive of 2008 before being caught in Chicago after that and sent back to her life sentence. In a strange twist years later and after a Lifetime movie about the case (by AMW producer Greg Klein!), the Prosecutor who sent Pender to jail tried to get her released. This was a result of the most crucial evidence- the confession letter Pender sent to Richard Hull about the crime. Hull signed an affidavit claiming he forged the letter to get a lighter sentence. Another inmate who says she confessed to him turned up on a "snitch list" of a former homicide detective's files. Pender has been described as a manipulator and a "female Charles Manson" who uses people to get what she wants. It seems her defense all these years is "I'm guilty but not that guilty" and basically "I am all these things you say about me but not guilty of murder." In any case, she's been denied a new trial. And while part of me understands what the prosecutor now brings up, the other part of me remembers Pender not apologizing for anyone but herself in her letter to AMW while still a fugitive, and the hissy fit she threw with Jon Lieberman after she was captured: EDIT: While I certainly do not approve of some of Pender's actions before, during, and after her time on the run, I am now of the belief myself that she did not receive a fair trial her first time around. This is my personal opinion as the admin of this forum and not necessarily the opinion of other forum members or anyone else. However, I fully support a re-trial for Pender. www.wishtv.com/news/local/pender-will-not-get-new-trialwww.wishtv.com/news/crime/attorney-pushes-for-sarah-penders-release
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Post by HeadMarshal on Sept 3, 2013 16:52:18 GMT -5
Her character probably screwed her chances of a new trial, which is interesting because she would probably have gotten one if she showed at least some form of empathy.
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Post by Scumhunter on Sept 3, 2013 16:57:40 GMT -5
Scott Spitler, the security guard, lost of his job and wound up in jail because of her. Jamie Long got a jail sentence as well. She didn't apologize for what happened to them until way, way after the fact. It is possible for someone to be a terrible person but innocent of murder. But she really didn't help herself in her behavior.
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Post by Scumhunter on Apr 14, 2014 13:57:05 GMT -5
I've been thinking about this, mainly because I saw the "Snapped" episode on Oxygen about Pender a few weeks ago. And it got me to thinking about how there really have been interesting developments regarding this case, and the controversy as to whether Pender was only guilty of helping to conceal the crime and bodies, or if she convinced her boyfriend to pull the trigger. For one, the "Deadline Crime: With Tamron Hall" episode I saw on ID interviewing Pender was incredibly fair and neutral if not seeming to side with Sarah (intentionally or not), which is surprising since fomer AMW correspondent Michelle Sigona interviewed her for the show. In it, Larry Sells, the prosecutor who put Pender in jail, says he called up her mother and said to her "I have prosecuted 72 murder cases, and I only failed with one of them, your daughter's." He was also very emotional and teary-eyed. The program also states Pender's solitary confinement, supposed to be temporary, was extended, and I forgot if it was the mother or someone else, but what they were told was the reasoning was "she's too smart." (According to a Facebook page trying to free her, she was finally let out of solitary confinement this year) Once again here is what was learned after Pender's conviction- -Richard Hull claims he forged the letter Pender in a signed affidavit. He says he gave his cell-mate, Steve Logan, samples of Sarah's writing, and it was later determined Hull's and Logan's fingerprints were found on the letter, but not Pender's. -Floyd Pennington, a prison penpal, turned up on a government "snitch" list for multiple cases. Neither Sells nor Pender's defense attorney knew about it before hand, and I believe I remember Sells stating on "Deadline: Crime: that he would not have charged Pender with first degree murder had he known about it. Don't get me wrong, there are A LOT of things I don't like about Pender and the way she handled her escape, before, during and afterwards. And she acted like a baby during her interview with Jon Lieberman on AMW. I understand her argument, but right after you caused a guy to lose his job and another friend a few more years of their freedom, it was not the time to make the conversation about herself. Lieberman was just doing his job and she threw a hissy fit. She ended the interview in a rage, and it wasn't until much after the fact that she finally apologized for what happened to Scott Spitler and Jamie Long as a result of her escape. People can say that her portrayal as manipulative is exaggerated, but all of us AMW watchers saw with our own two eyes her try to manipulate that interview. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Jo_Pender#cite_note-DistrictCourt_a-27Even Sells admits Pender is not an innocent person. She assisted the killer and helped to conceal the murders. But the maximum sentences on those crimes would have been served years ago. www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/06/09/prosecutor-says-womans-guilty-verdict-not-fair/2404247/Which leads to this tough moral dilemma for me. Is Pender SO GOOD at her manipulation that now even the prosecutor who had her convicted is on her side? Is she so good even me, who may have been one of her toughest critics on the old AMW forums, is now starting to think some of the evidence in her trial should not have been admitted in court? I have no idea. I am not saying she's innocent and she should be released just yet. But what am I saying is while I can't say I'm a fan of Sarah Pender the person, I do think Sarah Pender the defendant deserves a new trial with fairer evidence to determine her guilt or innocence once and for all. I'm sure even Pender doesn't care what people think of her as long as they agree with the latter part of that previous sentence. Curious what everyone else thinks. It's a complicated case and I'm sure there may be a lot of mixed emotions and opinions.
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Post by 912thamwuser on Aug 11, 2014 17:56:25 GMT -5
What would be your reaction if Pender actually got her double murder conviction overturned? Mine would be:
After such an infamous reputation and over a decade On The Inside, she probably would have to subsist in the wilderness once she made it to The Outside. If I had once been convicted of such a notorious crime and then got set free, even if my conviction HAD been overturned, I couldn't imagine anyone hiring me. I could only imagine making myself at home in the forest.
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Post by Scumhunter on Aug 11, 2014 18:11:01 GMT -5
I'm not sure. A lot of times even getting out the person's life is still a living hell. After Bambi Bembenek reached that no contest deal, her life was no more happy out of prison than it was in prison and she died a sad and depressed person despite probably being considered innocent by more people than those who thought she was guilty. Who knows what would happen with Sarah Pender. I assume her mother would try to help her land on her feet but I assume it would be hard for her to find work. There's also a group of people who believe in her innocence that might be willing to help her as well. And even though she was caught, she is probably one of the most cunning fugitives that AMW has ever went after and does at least in my opinion have the intelligence to try to find a way. Whether she deserves that chance or not, it's up to a jury if she's ever put on trial again. For now she's behind bars. For me, if the guy who put her behind bars in the first place is clamoring for a new trial and saying he wouldn't have prosecuted her for first-degree murder based on what he knows now, then that's good enough for me. But that's just my opinion. It's really one of the most fascinating cases in AMW history with twists and turns even years later. How many people would have predicted Larry Sells would have actually been on Sarah's side six years later back in 2008?
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Post by ninja108 on May 24, 2017 1:37:25 GMT -5
Just saw this case on Snapped and Tamron Hall last weekend and decided to look for updates on this. I have to say like others here I'm torn on her getting a new trial. Elements of a wrongful conviction are certainly there for one. You have a large amount of evidence being provided by a co-defendant who has every reason to lie and a jailhouse snitch claiming she "confessed", both red flags and factors in many wrongful convictions. The DA in this case also saying justice wasn't served is another strong factor in Sarah being entitled to a new trial. On the other hand, as it's been pointed out numerous times, Sarah has done herself no favors. Even some folks in her corner admit at the very least she helped cover up the murders of two people so she is by no means innocent of any wrong doing. I also still remember (as others here have) the interview she gave on AMW after she was caught where she was asked questions that were just as fair and impartial as the ones asked on the Tamron Hall show and she had a fit because the reporter dared to ask her if she felt bad at the fact others were going to pay with their freedom for helping her gain hers for a time. She showed a complete lack of concern for others, which fit with the AMW profile of her. The fact it took her so long to apologize for what she did to them also doesn't bode well in her favor. I have to say even though I think she did it, the factors of wrongful convictions I mentioned above do warrant a new trial, like it or not. We can't have a system where stuff like that is ignored just because the defendant is a scumbag. That would lead down a road the justice system should never go on.
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Post by Scumhunter on May 24, 2017 2:33:00 GMT -5
Yeah that's always been the contradiction here.
If Sarah had just kept quiet since at least her capture and quietly appealed her case (or at least calmly defend herself and appear more apologetic if she still chose to go public), looking at the evidence, I feel that more people than not would agree she deserves a new trial.
I still feel she deserves a new trial based on the evidence/what's been uncovered and the person who prosecuted her saying so, but I will also admit I have never seen an innocent person (if she is innocent of murder, obviously even Pender herself has already admitted guilt as far as other aspects) self-sabotage their own case the way she has done.
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Post by ninja108 on Jun 1, 2017 2:04:20 GMT -5
IMO, Sarah's biggest problem is that she is a narcissist and thus can't empathize with anyone but herself.
Throw in her arrogance due to her high intelligence and you get someone who became her own worst enemy over the past few years when it has come to getting a new trial.
Arrogance makes you stupid and I think Sarah thought with everything that has come out and some of the people she has on her side now, that she didn’t have to show concern for folks (or even fake it) caught up in her escape plot or others still hurting from the crime committed that day. And by the time the light bulb went on in her head that maybe that wasn’t the best idea when you’re arguing you were a sweet and naïve young woman manipulated into doing various bad things you wouldn't have done otherwise, the damage was done.
Even if she gets a new trial, the biggest problem will be that even though others don’t have credibility, neither does she.
And she has no one but herself to blame for that.
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Post by ninja108 on Mar 19, 2019 0:12:23 GMT -5
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbUTHDxhmME Saw this documentary on the Rockville Correctional that was done last year and Sarah Pender is featured in several spots in the beginning,middle and end. She says she has remorse now for the harm done to others and the deaths of Andrew Cataldi and Tricia Nordman but IMO,it's the same manipulation we saw in her interview with Jon Liberman right after she was caught and a couple of other times early on. I do think she deserves a new trial in light of the evidence that didn't come to light but as everyone has said from day one,she has been her own worst enemy. And that's because at the end of the day,she's not sorry at all for others who got caught in her escape plan nor what happened that day,only that she got caught.
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Post by Scumhunter on Mar 19, 2019 0:48:13 GMT -5
I guess my problem is even the attorney who prosecuted her says he got it wrong, which I feel does speak volumes, especially when he says it's the only case in his career he ever got wrong. Pender is far from innocent as it relates to being an upstanding citizen of society, but she was arguably oversentenced for her involvement in the crime she was convicted for. You shouldn't get a second trial or not based on whether or not you're a good person, but based on the evidence. Of course, her lack of remorse or apology until after she got caught has not helped. But you can be an absolute dipsh** person as a human being and still not guilty of what's alleged. (Or only guilty of part of what's alleged).
It sounds contradictory, she is manipulative and shows a lack of remorse (or pretend remorse), but I feel she also deserves a new trial based on the new evidence that has come to light.
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Post by ninja108 on Mar 19, 2019 23:09:57 GMT -5
I think she should get a new trial too in light of the new evidence. Only problem will be when she does is her own actions will come back to bite her in the butt. You'll have the evidence suggesting some of the stuff said about her isn't true then you'll have tapes where she acts exactly like the person described on America's Most Wanted all those years ago. As we've all noted by now,no one has ever ensured a likely guilty verdict in case of a retrial with their own actions then Sarah Pender has.
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Post by Scumhunter on Mar 20, 2019 5:48:02 GMT -5
Well trials are unpredictable but I would agree her chances are/were better if she is/was quiet beforehand.
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Post by ninja108 on Feb 20, 2020 3:16:07 GMT -5
Was looking for updates on this and was able to find that Sarah's appeals(including the ones on the federal level) have been denied so unless SCOTUS intervenes,it does appear as if Sarah will be in prison until the 2040's at earliest. I think we are all in agreement on two things. 1)There is more then enough grounds for a new trial based on everything that has come out. 2)Sarah Pender,more then anyone else we've seen has taken a wrecking ball again and again to people who have been trying to help her(including the man who prosecuted her) by opening her mouth again and again and coming across exactly as the person she was described as at her trial. A person who doesn't care about anyone or anything but herself and IMO,that is who she is. Doesn't make her a killer but it does appear it has doomed her chances at a new trial which IMO needs to happen to settle this once and for all.
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Post by Scumhunter on Feb 20, 2020 3:34:30 GMT -5
I guess I can summarize my feelings in basically agreeing or summarizing it this way:
I think Sarah Pender is indeed the manipulative and conniving person everyone she says she is, and I would stay far away from her if she ever got out. However, she does have an argument that her punishment was excessive. The two aspects don't have to be mutually exclusive. She can be one of the most manipulative murder convicts the state of Indiana has ever had but also correct in her argument at the same time.
However, I agree with you that she probably would have had a new trial by now had she not self-sabotaged herself and just let her attorneys handle her case.
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