Opinion ID: 2599880
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Lewis's Domestic Violence

Text: Jeanett Hudson was already married to Lewis when he married Mizell. Hudson testified that, during their relationship, Lewis grew increasingly violent. He pushed and punched her. He threatened her life at knifepoint on one occasion, and caused her to lose consciousness another time. Once, after she fled from him, he apparently feigned suicide to induce her return. In November 1981, following a severe beating, Hudson moved out. She went to her parents' house, taking her young daughter with her. In the following days, numerous phone calls from Lewis or both defendants contained threats to kill Hudson and her family. For example, Oliver announced that all of [them] . . . were going to die. In the same period, Hudson's parents' house was shot at, as was Hudson's car. The shooting of the house was particularly terrifying, Hudson testified. There were six adults and two preteen children in the house. As the shots penetrated the house, the children were placed in the bathtub and the adults lay on the floor and slept there that night. More phone calls followed, containing laughter. Thereafter, the house was shot up again. Hudson described gunfire [coming] from everywhere. She testified that the [h]ouse was full of smoke. You could hear the kids crying, everybody laying on the floor. The family quickly fled Los Angeles. On December 11, 1981, another house belonging to Hudson's parents was destroyed by the second of two deliberately set fires. Lewis later admitted to Hudson that he had done the shootings of the house and car. Hudson's sister, Nadine Burchett, testified that, around the same time, she received telephone calls at work from both Lewis and Oliver saying they were going to find Hudson and her family and kill them. Despite all of this, Hudson married Lewis in March 1982. She was still married to him when she testified. On July 21, 1989, the night of the murders, Lewis and Oliver arrived at Hudson's home. They were dressed in black clothing, some of which they removed. They showed Hudson two shotguns in the trunk of an apparent rental car. Lewis wanted to store the guns in Hudson's house. She refused, but allowed him to place them in the trunk of her car. Defendants left in a hurry, saying they needed to return the car to the rental agency. Later, the police questioned Hudson. She furnished a false alibi for Lewis, saying they were watching television when the murders occurred. She did so because she feared Lewis more than the police. When Hudson declined to provide a false alibi for the capital crimes at trial, Lewis threatened to kill her.