As I predicted, astronaut/would-be murderess Lisa Nowak will get the kid glove treatment from the legal system, and will not be charged with attempted murder. According to CNN:

"ORLANDO, Florida (AP) -- Florida prosecutors charged an astronaut Friday with trying to kidnap a romantic rival, but they declined to file an attempted murder charge recommended by police.

"Lisa Nowak, 43, was formally charged almost a month after she was arrested at an Orlando airport parking lot.

"Police have said the mother of three had raced 900 miles in her car from Houston to Orlando on February 5 to confront a woman she viewed as a rival for a space shuttle pilot's affection. Nowak donned a wig and trench coat, then sprayed a chemical into the woman's car when she wouldn't let Nowak in, police said.

"Officers found a BB-gun, a new steel mallet, knife and rubber tubing in Nowak's car, and recommended she be charged with attempted murder.

"Nowak pleaded not guilty last month on all counts that police recommended. Her attorney, Donald Lykkebak, said that she denies the charges filed Friday: attempted kidnapping with intent to inflict bodily harm, burglary with an assault using a weapon and battery."

In my recent co-authored column Scott Peterson in a space suit (Philadelphia Daily News, 2/26/07) I wrote:

"The media is soft-pedaling numerous aspects of the Nowak case. Practically every media outlet has explained Nowak's decision to wear astronaut diapers on her journey to allegedly attack romantic rival Colleen Shipman as a bizarre, freakish action indicative of her mental instability. In reality, Nowak acted with logic and calculation—she did not want to stop several times on the way from Houston to Orlando and leave a trail of convenience store camera records behind her. For the same reason, when Nowak arrived in Orlando she disguised herself, checked into a hotel under a fake name and address, and paid cash.

"Similarly, numerous commentators have described Nowak’s equipment--a 4-inch folding knife, a steel mallet, several garbage bags, rubber tubing, a BB gun, and pepper spray--as 'wacky' or 'bizarre.' They are nothing of the sort. Orlando police believe Nowak intended to kill Shipman, and she probably planned to utilize the garbage bags to dispose of her, perhaps in Galveston Bay. As Orlando police Sgt. Barbara Jones explained, it was a 'fairly elaborate plan.'

"One major newspaper sadly lamented Nowak’s 'meltdown', a term usually used to describe a performer’s onstage temper tantrum, not an apparent murder attempt. One commentator labeled Nowak an 'unfortunate' individual who 'has been the subject of relentless news coverage…[and] hounded and beleaguered by the press,' an unusually sympathetic description of the media attention people bring upon themselves when they try to kill someone.

"Nowak’s neighbors have lent her their support, and both her former Naval Academy classmates and a Florida restaurateur are raising money for her legal defense. And, of course, a movie about Nowak’s life is in the works.

"Nowak was let out on a light $25,500 bail and, except for those grumpy Orlando prosecutors, most are trivializing what she did. In 2002, Scott Peterson killed Laci Peterson and disposed of her body in San Francisco Bay. Except for the fact that Nowak botched the job, is her alleged crime much different?"

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 3rd, 2007 at 1:17 am and is filed under Domestic Violence/DV System, Crime/Criminal Justice System/Police, Men and the Media, Sexism, Gender Issues (Misc.). You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.