The Texas actress who admitted
sending ricin-laced letters to President Barack
Obama and then-New York Mayor Michael
Bloomberg was sentenced to 18 years in prison
Wednesday, the U.S. attorney's office said.
Shannon Guess Richardson, 36, also was ordered
to pay $367,000 in restitution.
"Today's sentencing brings an appropriate and
just end to what is surely one of our most
unusual, even bizarre cases," John Bales, U.S.
attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, said in
a statement.
In December, the actress pleaded guilty to
possession of a toxin for use as a weapon,
prosecutors said.
Though the charge carried a maximum penalty of
life in prison, prosecutors said at the time that
Richardson entered into a plea deal under which
she would not serve more than 18 years.
Three envelopes containing the
natural, highly toxic compound derived
from castor beans were mailed from
Shreveport, Louisiana, in May 2013,
after records showed Richardson
made online purchases of castor
beans and lye, another component of
ricin.
Richardson lived in New Boston,
Texas, about 90 miles north of
Shreveport.
In addition to Obama and Bloomberg,
Richardson also mailed a poison letter
to Mark Glaze, then-director of
Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which
Bloomberg founded, an FBI arrest
affidavit said. The group's office is in
Washington.
The letters, which contained what the
FBI described as "very low
concentrations" of ricin, were
discovered before causing any injuries
or fatalities. They also issued a
threat: "You will have to kill me and
my family before you get my guns.
The right to bear arms is my
constitutional God-given right. What's
in this letter is nothing compared to
what I've got planned for you."
What is ricin?
Richardson -- who had minor roles in television
shows, including "The Walking Dead" and "The
Vampire Diaries" -- initially told FBI agents that
her now-estranged husband had sent the tainted
letters.
But authorities said Richardson was found to be
"deceptive" in a polygraph exam.
Investigators found that her computer storage
devices contained the text of threatening letters
to Obama and the couple's computer records
showed that her husband couldn't have printed
them because he was at work at the time,
according to an FBI arrest affidavit.
Eventually, Richardson admitted to investigators
that she'd mailed the letters, though she claimed
her husband had typed them out and forced her
to print and mail them, the affidavit said.
Nathaniel Richardson denied any wrongdoing,
telling investigators that his wife was
"intentionally misleading" them and that she
wanted to end their marriage, court papers said.
He filed for divorce in June 2013, and court
papers indicated that Shannon Richardson was
pregnant. According to CNN affiliate KYTX-TV,
Shannon Richardson gave birth to a boy, Brody, in
July 2013, four months before her due date.
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