On October 30 1990 a young woman by the name of Cynthia Lorraine Ricketts Richardson was executed and dismembered by her husband Donald Glen Richardson. Her body parts were scattered over a fifty-mile area in and around the Columbia River in the State of Oregon. As if the abuse Cindy suffered at the hands of her husband wasn't enough, the State of Oregon delivered its own brand of injustice to not only Cindy and her family but to a second family as well... when Donald was released from prison after only a 25-year sentence for his heinous crime against his wife. When Donald was released due to a new law that had been passed by the State Legislature, he committed a crime so horrible, it should have earned him the death penalty. Sadly, he will be released from prison in 2023. The family has fought for years to keep him in prison even before he was released for the first time. This is Cindy's story. This is finally the Justice she nor her family ever received at the hands of the Criminal Justice System in Oregon, from the Attorney General down to the psychiatrist who stated that he was not a danger to others. While he was awaiting trial for Cindy's murder his defense attorney stated in court that it was just a "Garden Variety" murder. Now Cindy and her family can find the peace that has eluded them for so many years.
