Death Row
Women
Women are rarely sentenced to death in the United States and executions of women are even rarer. Researchers have suggested that women who are sentenced to death are often perceived as breaking gender norms.
DPIC Podcast: Discussions With DPIC
Women and the Death Penalty, with Professor Mary Atwell
Current Female Death Row Prisoners
As of January 1, 2020, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund reports that there were 53 women on death rows across the United States.
| State | County | Name | Race |
|---|---|---|---|
| AL | Franklin | Scott, Christie Michelle | W |
| AL | Houston | Blackmon, Patricia | B |
| AL | Houston | Gobble, Tierra Capri | W |
| AL | Mobile | Keaton, Heather | B |
| AL | Russell | Graham, Lisa | W |
| AZ | Maricopa | Andriano, Wendi | W |
| AZ | Pima | Forde, Shawna | W |
| AZ | Maricopa | Allen, Sammantha | W |
| CA | Alameda | Michaud, Michelle | W |
| CA | Los Angeles | Martin, Valerie | W |
| CA | Los Angeles | McDermott, Maureen | W |
| CA | Los Angeles | Nieves, Sandi | W |
| CA | Los Angeles | Rodriguez, Angelina | L |
| CA | Los Angeles | Samuels, Mary | W |
| CA | Los Angeles | Thompson, Catherine | B |
| CA | Los Angeles | Williams, Manling | A |
| CA | Orange | Alfaro, Maria | L |
| CA | Orange | Nelson, Tanya | A |
| CA | Riverside | Magana, Belinda | L |
| CA | Riverside | Rottiers, Brooke | W |
| CA | Riverside | Sarinana, Cathy | W |
| CA | Riverside | Snyder, Janeen | W |
| CA | San Bernardino | Coffman, Cynthia | W |
| CA | San Diego | Dalton, Kerry | W |
| CA | San Diego | Eubanks, Susan | W |
| CA | San Diego | Gonzales, Veronica | L |
| CA | San Mateo | Carrington, Celeste | B |
| CA | Ventura | Caro, Socorro | L |
| CA | Riverside | Hunter, Lorraine Alison | B |
| FL | Brevard | Allen, Margaret | B |
| FL | Duval | Cole, Tiffany | W |
| FL | Escambia | Brown, Tina | B |
| GA | Gwinnett | Moss, Tiffany | B |
| ID | Ada | Row, Robin | W |
| KY | Fayette | Caudill, Virginia | W |
| LA | Orleans | Frank, Antoinette | B |
| MS | Forrest | Chamberlin, Lisa | W |
| NC | Forsyth | Moore, Blanche T. | W |
| NC | Wake | Parker, Carlette | B |
| NC | Cumberland | Walters, Christina | NA |
| OH | Trumbull | Roberts, Donna ^ | W |
| OK | Oklahoma | Andrew, Brenda | W |
| OR | Lane | McAnulty, Angela | W |
| PA | Washington | Tharp, Michelle Sue | W |
| TN | Knox | Pike, Christa | W |
| TX | Cameron | Lucio, Melissa | L |
| TX | Dallas | Routier, Darlie | W |
| TX | Harris | Carty, Linda | B |
| TX | Harris | Sheppard, Erica | B |
| TX | Randall | Holberg, Brittany | W |
| TX | Smith | Cargill, Kimberly | W |
| Federal Death Row | Missouri, Western District | Montgomery, Lisa | W |
To see Professor Streib’s summaries of the cases of the women who were on death row as of December 2012, click here.
Mar 19, 2015
INNOCENCE: Debra Milke Exonerated from Arizona Death Row
UPDATE: On March 23, Judge Rosa Mroz officially dismissed the charges against Milke. Milke has been added to DPIC’s exoneration list.
Read MoreNews & Developments
Mar 03, 2020
Sandra Lockett-Young, Whose Case Established a Capital Defendant’s Right to Present Mitigating Evidence, Has Died
Sandra Lockett-Young (pictured, right, with Sister Helen Prejean), whose case established a capital defendant’s right to present a broad range of mitigating evidence concerning her character, background, and record and the circums…
Jun 04, 2019
Alabama Woman Impregnated While in County Jail Awaiting Death-Penalty Trial
An Alabama woman who may have been raped by guards has given birth after being impregnated in the Coosa County jail while awaiting trial on capital murder charges. LaToni Daniel (pictured), an hon…
Apr 26, 2019
Georgia Lawyers Seek to Intervene After Brain-Damaged Defendant Permitted to Represent Herself in Death-Penalty Trial
Arguing that a brain-damaged woman facing the death penalty for the starving death of her young daughter “was incapable of representing herself,” lawyers from the Georgia Of…
Jan 16, 2019
Human Rights Group—Politically Motivated Use of Death Penalty Widens in Saudi Arabia
Executions have soared in Saudi Arabia amid widening pursuit of politically motivated death sentences, mass death penalty trials, and use of the death penalty against female activists, according to a European-based Saudi human rig…
Sep 21, 2018
“Judged for More Than Her Crime”: New Report Examines Worldwide Use of Death Penalty Against Women
Women face “widespread discriminatory practices in the capital prosecution and detention” in death-penalty countries around the world, according to a new report by the Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide
Aug 31, 2018
Cases in Sudan, Saudi Arabia Illustrate Use of Death Penalty Against Women to Enforce Gender Norms
In high-profile cases in Sudan and Saudi Arabia, human rights advocates are protesting the threatened use of the death penalty against women for resisting oppression. In the Sudan, prosecutors are seeking to reins…
Nov 30, 2017
History of Lynchings of Mexican Americans Provides Context for Recent Challenges to U.S. Death Penalty
From 1846 to 1870, more than 100 men and women were hanged on the branches of the notorious “Hanging Tree” in Goliad, Texas. Many were Mexicans or Mexican Americans and many were killed by lynching. In a November 25 op-ed i…
Mar 27, 2017
New Podcast: Women and the Death Penalty, With Expert Guest Mary Atwell
“We live in a gendered society,” says Dr. Mary Atwell (pictured), one of the nation’s foremost experts on women and capital punishment, and the men and women who go to death row are different. In the latest podcast episode of “Discussions with DPI…
Sep 25, 2015
Former Inmates Plead for Clemency for Kelly Gissendaner, Who Gave Them Hope in Prison
A group of former Georgia prisoners is calling for clemency for Kelly Gissendaner, who is scheduled to be executed on September 29. The women say Gissendaner gave them hope and helped them turn their lives around.…
Jul 01, 2015
Former Death Row Inmate Michelle Byrom Released from Mississippi Prison
Michelle Byrom (pictured, seated) was released from prison in Mississippi on June 26 after spending 16 years behind bars, 14 of them on death row, for the murder of her husba…
