Opinion ID: 2332358
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Facts Relating to Shirley Lute

Text: At 76-years old, Shirley Lute is the oldest female inmate in the Missouri Department of Corrections and has been in prison 29 years. The following history of Lute's abuse was alleged in her clemency petition and considered by the Governor. Shortly after Shirley Lute met Melvin Lute, he began to physically and mentally abuse her. They married in 1976, and throughout their marriage, he would punch her in the ribs and breasts and jaw, kick her in the stomach, and bite her breasts. He instructed her to never tell anyone about the abuse. He would place her in karate holds and bend each of her fingers back to force her to comply with his sexual demands. He frequently put a dog collar on her and made her bark like a dog. During one incident, he tied her to their bed and choked her and burned her with cigarettes. He was a non-smoker and had purchased the cigarettes solely to torture her. He refused to untie her to let her go to the bathroom and she was forced to urinate on herself. On more than one occasion he locked her in an unheated, rodent-infested basement for days without warm clothing, food, or water. During another incident, he threw her out of his moving truck. Then he went back and chased her down, threw her back into the truck, drove to a secluded location and kicked, punched, and choked her. Melvin Lute was killed on the night of February 6, 1978, by Roy Welch, Shirley Lute's son. [1] She was arrested and charged with the murder in 1978 and has remained in prison ever since. She has always denied her involvement in the murder. At her trial, the prosecutor claimed that she offered her son money from life insurance proceeds if he killed Melvin Lute. Outside of a single comment made by Shirley Lute about a time when Melvin Lute had hit her and kicked her in the leg, no evidence about her abuse was offered at trial. Missouri's statute permitting the admission of evidence on battered spouse syndrome was not enacted until 1987. She was convicted of first degree murder on June 11, 1981, and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 50 years. On December 28, 2004, Governor Holden commuted Lute's sentence. The commutation stated: After examination of the application and facts relevant thereto, and upon recommendation of the Board of Probation and Parole, I hereby grant to Shirley Lute a commutation of the above sentence, in the following respect. This commutation eliminates from the sentence the prohibition against eligibility for parole for 50 years, and makes Shirley Lute eligible for parole consideration. The Board denied Lute parole. [2] Its decision stated the reason for the action taken as: Release at this time would depreciate the seriousness of the present offense based upon the following: A. Circumstances surrounding the present offense. Lute filed this petition for a writ of habeas corpus. At this time, she remains imprisoned at the Chillicothe Correctional Center, where she has been a model prisoner. She asks this Court to order her release so that she may live the remainder of her life with her daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren in Missouri.