Summary

Stephanie Diane Dowells, 62, was strangled during an overnight visit with her husband, David Brinson, at Mule Creek state prison in California.

Brinson, serving life without parole for four murders, claimed Dowells passed out, but authorities ruled her death a homicide.

This marks the second strangulation death during a family visit at the prison in a year; Tania Thomas was killed in July 2024 while visiting inmate Anthony Curry. Investigations are ongoing.

California is one of four states allowing family visits to maintain positive relationships.

  • lumony
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    3 days ago

    But we can trust them to imprison people for life? 🤔

    The “logic” among you people is really a sight to behold. I can tell you’re just saying what you think will make you look good in front of your peers.

      • lumony
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        3 days ago

        It can’t be reversed after they’re dead.

        You also can’t give them back the time that they lost.

          • lumony
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            3 days ago

            How do you give them compensation after they’ve died in prison?

            • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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              3 days ago

              Compensate their families or other next of kin.

              I’ll be honest, I believe in prison abolition. I don’t really want to defend the concept of life in prison. We don’t need to lock people up.

              But it’s clearly better than killing people.

              • lumony
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                2 days ago

                Do families get compensated after their relatives die in prison? That’s a new one to me.

                I guess the families could be compensated if their relatives get the death penalty? Then that would make it “ok” by your “logic.”

                I’ll be honest, I believe in prison abolition. I don’t really want to defend the concept of life in prison. We don’t need to lock people up.

                Yeah, it’d be nice if people didn’t commit crimes. Unfortunately that’s not the world we live in.

                You should focus on reality instead of your fantasies more often.

                • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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                  2 days ago

                  Yeah, it’d be nice if people didn’t commit crimes. Unfortunately that’s not the world we live in.

                  You should focus on reality instead of your fantasies more often.

                  This exact same glib argument can be used against your own complaints about life imprisonment, so I’m not even sure what you’re arguing for at this point.

                  • lumony
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                    2 days ago

                    Uhh, what? I guess I need to be very specific with you, lol.

                    You were saying that you don’t want to defend life in prison or locking people up. I countered by saying “yeah, it would be great if we lived in a world where that wasn’t necessary, but that’s not the world we live in.”

                    Since you’re the one so pre-occupied in living in a fantasy world where you think prison isn’t necessary, I said “You should focus on reality instead of your fantasies more often.”

                    This exact same glib argument can be used against your own complaints about life imprisonment

                    Ironic how you’re saying this after you’re the one who said “compensation for families makes dying in prison ok.” How come you completely ignored my point about giving compensation to families of people who get the death penalty?

    • Lemmist@lemm.ee
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      3 days ago

      I said, “we cannot trust judges and executioners.” We don’t trust them. No, we don’t trust them to “imprison people for life” too.

      But imprisonment is a lesser evil and can be fixed to some extent in the case of fuck up. Execution cannot.

      • lumony
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        3 days ago

        No, we don’t trust them to “imprison people for life” too.

        ??? What the fuck? Where do life sentences come from then? The fairy-godmother?

        This is why I don’t take you people seriously, lmao.

        But imprisonment is a lesser evil and can be fixed to some extent in the case of fuck up.

        So it’s acceptable to imprison innocent people for life but not kill them? Or, maybe, your “we can’t trust them” argument was always stupid and you’re just having trouble reconciling that fact.