23-year prison sentence for woman in slow cooker death

In a Feb. 5, 2015 photo, defendant Tewana Sullivan sobs towards the end of her preliminary examination at 16th District Court in Livonia, Mich. Sullivan, who authorities say killed a friend with a slow cooker during a political dispute in suburban Detroit while very drunk, faces sentencing Monday, June 15, 2015, in Detroit. (Robin Buckson/The Detroit News via AP) In a Feb. 5, 2015 photo, defendant Tewana Sullivan sobs towards the end of her preliminary examination at 16th District Court in Livonia, Mich. Sullivan, who authorities say killed a friend with a slow cooker during a political dispute in suburban Detroit while very drunk, faces sentencing Monday, June 15, 2015, in Detroit. (Robin Buckson/The Detroit News via AP)

By Associated Press June 15, 2015 2 min read

DETROIT (AP) – A Detroit woman who was drunk when she killed a friend with a slow cooker during an argument over presidential politics was sentenced Monday to at least 23 years in prison.

A judge followed the recommended sentence in a plea deal between prosecutors and Tewana Sullivan, who has a history of bipolar disorder but was declared competent to go to trial.

Sullivan, 51, beat Cheryl Livy, 66, with a slow cooker at the victim’s Livonia apartment in October. At the time, Sullivan’s blood-alcohol level was 0.41 – five times the level for drunken driving in Michigan, defense attorney John McWilliams said.

“I didn’t take my medication like I was supposed to, so I did mess up,” Sullivan told Wayne County Judge Michael Hathaway. “Without me taking my medication, that was the worst thing I could ever have done.”

McWilliams said the two were arguing about the 2016 race for president.