Growing the Voices of Our Future

The Westside Gazette Newspaper is honored to feature these editorial contributions made by local students.

        Pieper Lewis, the Iowa teen who killed a man she claimed raped her and was sentenced to probation and ordered to pay restitution to his family, has escaped from a juvenile detention facility. Lewis “walked away from the Fresh Start Women’s Center on Friday at 6:19 a.m. after cutting off her electronic monitoring tracking device,” officials said, recommending her probation be revoked. “A warrant for her arrest was later issued, and it is still outstanding.” Lewis was 15 years old when she killed a man she claimed had repeatedly raped her. After pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter and willful injury, she received a deferred judgment from Polk County District Judge David Porter, and in September, an Iowa judge ordered Lewis to pay $150,000 in restitution to his family, as required by Iowa law. Porter also sentenced Lewis to five years probation, 200 hours of community service, and an additional $4,000 in civil penalties. Lewis’ record could be cleared as a result of the deferred judgment.

By Layla Davidson