Attorney: Woman in Ricin Case Could Face 18 Years

DALLAS (AP) – The attorney for a New Boston woman who will plead guilty in a high-profile ricin letters case says both sides have agreed to a prison sentence of no longer than 18 years. Officials say Shannon Guess Richardson sent ricin-laced letters to President Barack Obama, New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, and a leader of the mayor’s gun control group. Lawyer Tonda Curry also said Monday that Richardson never intended “to harm anyone at all,” but wouldn’t disclose more about her motivation. Curry says Richardson has agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge of possessing or producing a biological toxin. She said Richardson is “anxious” to admit that she ordered components to make ricin, a powdery substance that can cause respiratory failure if inhaled. Curry says Richardson also wants to turn over others involved in the plot. Richardson was arrested in June in Mt. Pleasant after the letters were discovered.