Posted on 06/28/2005 1:00:36 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The state Supreme Court upheld the death sentence for a woman who orchestrated the murders of her ex-husband and a hit man who expressed remorse about his role in the killing.
The state's highest court on Monday rejected arguments by Mary Ellen Samuels that numerous errors were made in the trial that led to her July 1994 conviction of two counts of first-degree murder, solicitation of murder and conspiracy to commit murder. She was sentenced to death in September 1994.
Robert Samuels was found dead on Dec. 8, 1988 from a gunshot wound to the head. After his death, Mary Ellen Samuels bought a Porsche and property in Cancun, Mexico, among other things, and was photographed while covered only in money. The pose earned her the nickname "the Green Widow."
During her trial, prosecutors presented evidence showing she had collected $240,000 in life insurance after her ex-husband's death. The prosecution said Samuels had hired James Bernstein to kill her ex-husband and then ordered his death when he expressed regret about the killing to a friend.
Bernstein was strangled on June 27, 1989 by two men who were later sentenced to life in prison.
Samuels is one of 15 women on death row in California.
Funny how a death sentence can hinge on tidbits of remorseless viciousness. Like the killer who finished the lunches of his victims. Or that boastful photograph.
"...and was photographed while covered only in money. The pose earned her the nickname "the Green Widow.""
I can't seem to find these pictures anywhere. Anyone else able to find them?
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