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Woman on Death Row for Murdering Sunday School Teacher Freed

Woman on Death Row for Murdering Sunday School Teacher Freed

Paula Cooper was 16 when she was sentenced to death row for murdering a 78-year-old Bible school teacher. She and a few friends told Ruth Pelke they were interested in a Bible school lesson, and then stabbed her 33 times with a butcher knife while Pelke prayed the Lord’s Prayer—the teens drove off in Pelke’s car with $10. After they were caught, Cooper’s controversial death sentence resulted in international outrage and even a plea for mercy from the Pope. And now, nearly 30 years later, Cooper is being released from prison and given a second shot. “There are second chances,” says her sister, Rhonda Labroi. “It seems like God has given her another chance. I think if people give her a second chance, she’ll do fine” …

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