Wife convicted of killing preacher out of jail after five months in jail!

I am not a lawyer and don't play one on TV (that is a reference to an old commercial for all of you young'uns out there). However, the case of Mary Winkler seems like something is gone awry in the Tennessee justice system.

This past week, on August 14, Mary Winkler walked out of jail after having spent a total of seven months in custody (five in jail, two in a mental hospital)* for having shot her husband in the back with a 12-guage shotgun.

I am sure by now that most of you have heard something about the story. Her husband was the Pastor of a Church of Christ in Tennessee. According to most reports, he was well-liked and respected in the community. However, on March 22, 2006, his wife shot him in the back and took off with their three children to Alabama. Reports say that when Mary Winkler left, her husband was not yet dead from the shooting, but rather than calling 911 or trying to help him after what she said later was an "accident", she took the children and fled.

When she went to trial, she said that she had been the victim of abuse. Unfortunately, it is impossible to know if this is true or not. There was no collaborating evidence presented about the alleged abuse. The couple's nine-year old daughter testified that she never saw her father mistreat her mother (even though testifying as such could have caused this little girl who has already lost a father to also lose a mother to a long sentence) and Mary Winkler herself said under cross-examination that her husband did nothing for which he deserved to die. Police said that Mary Winkler had been involved in a financial scam and that this had led to some arguments on the nights she killer her husband. The jury, however, returned a "Voluntary Manslaughter" conviction rather than a 1st-degree murder conviction.

Now she is out of prison and out of the mental hospital and free. Something does not smell right in the state of Tennessee.

Some news reports regarding this story:

Mary Winkler Told Cops She Shot Minister Husband After Fight

Preacher's Wife Guilty of Manslaughter

Did Preacher's Wife Get Away with Murder?


Just my thoughts,

Frank


* The seven months include credit for five months she was held before her conviction. After her conviction, she only served 67 days, 60 of which was in a mental hospital.