Former Youngest Indiana Woman On Death Row Commits Suicide
Just a couple years following her release from prison, a woman from Indiana has apparently committed suicide. Paula Cooper, who was the youngest woman on death row at just 16 years of age back in 1986, spent 27 years behind bars before getting an appeal and was released in June 2013. Cooper, who was 45, was found dead early Tuesday morning with a gunshot wound to the head that appears to be self-inflicted
Cooper was sentenced to death after stabbing 78-year-old Ruth Pelke 33 times with a butcher knife during a robbery. Pelke was a Bible teacher and said the Lord’s Prayer before passing away. Apparently a leader among three different friends, Pelke allowed them into her home when they said they were interested in Bible study lessons. The prosecutor in the case, Indianapolis lawyer Jack Crawford, had more gruesome details in a 2013 interview with The Indianapolis Star: “Paula Cooper got on top of her and kept saying to her, and this is her own admission, ‘Where’s the money, b-tch?‘”
Pope John Paul II perhaps saved Cooper’s life at the time, wanting the Indiana Supreme Court to change the sentence. Three years after being put on death row, the courts changed her sentence to 60 years in prison. Due to credits, she was granted an early release a few years ago. After her release from a correctional facility, they helped give her a new start with $75, new clothes, and a bachelor’s degree to get a job.
