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.

Current List of Women on Death Row

As of March 11, 2024, the Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide reports there are 52 women on death rows across the United States.

StateCountyNameRace
ALFranklinScott, Christie MichelleW
ALHoustonBlackmon, PatriciaB
ALHoustonGobble, Tierra CapriW
ALMobileKeaton, HeatherB
ALRussellGraham, LisaW
AZMaricopaAndriano, WendiW
AZPimaForde, ShawnaW
AZMaricopaAllen, SammanthaW
CAAlamedaMichaud, MichelleW
CALos AngelesMartin, ValerieW
CALos AngelesMcDermott, MaureenW
CALos AngelesRodriguez, AngelinaL
CALos AngelesThompson, CatherineB
CALos AngelesWilliams, ManlingA
CAModocRhoades, CherieN
CAOrangeAlfaro, MariaL
CAOrangeDeLeon, Skylar Sophia^W
CAOrangeNelson, TanyaA
CARiversideHann, Jessica Marie^^W
CARiversideHunter, Lorraine AlisonB
CARiversideMagaña, BelindaL
CARiversideRottiers, BrookeW
CARiversideSarinana, CathyW
CARiversideSnyder, JaneenW
CASan BernardinoCoffman, CynthiaW
CASan DiegoDalton, KerryW
CASan DiegoEubanks, SusanW
CASan DiegoGonzales, VeronicaL
CAVenturaCaro, SocorroL
FLBrevardAllen, MargaretB
FLEscambiaBrown, TinaB
FLSanta RosaRodgers, Jenna*W
GAGwinnettMoss, TiffanyB
IDAdaRow, RobinW
KYFayetteCaudill, VirginiaW
LAOrleansFrank, AntoinetteB
MSForrestChamberlin, LisaW
NCForsythMoore, Blanche T.W
NCWakeParker, CarletteB
OHLucasVixen, Taci**W
OHTrumbullRoberts, DonnaW
OHWarrenDrain, Victoria***W
OKOklahomaAndrew, BrendaW
PAWashingtonTharp, Michelle SueW
TNKnoxPike, ChristaW
TXBowieParker, TaylorW
TXCameronLucio, MelissaL
TXDallasRoutier, DarlieW
TXHarrisCarty, LindaB
TXHarrisSheppard, EricaB
TXRandallHolberg, BrittanyW
TXSmithCargill, KimberlyW

To see Professor Streib’s summaries of the cases of the women who were on death row as of December 2012, click here.


^Skylar Sophia DeLeon, a transgender woman, was sentenced under the name Skylar Julius DeLeon and transitioned while on California’s death row.

^^Jessica Marie Hann, a transgender woman, was sentenced under the name Jason Michael Hann and transitioned while on California’s death row.

*Jenna Rodgers, a transgender woman, was sentenced under the name Jeremiah Rodgers and transitioned while on Florida’s death row.

**Taci Vixen, a transgender woman, was sentenced under the name Timothy Hoffner and transitioned while on Ohio’s death row.

***Victoria Drain, a transgender woman, was sentenced under the name Joel Drain and transitioned while on Ohio’s death row.

News & Developments


News

Sep 30, 2024

Rulings for Two Death-Sentenced Prisoners Recognize Devastating Harm Caused by Solitary Confinement

Scientists and oth­er experts are unan­i­mous in their con­clu­sion that indef­i­nite or pro­longed soli­tary con­fine­ment caus­es seri­ous harm, and the United Nations says it amounts to tor­ture — yet most death-sen­tenced peo­ple in America are con­fined to these extreme con­di­tions of iso­la­tion and depri­va­tion for years. As of 2020, a dozen states rou­tine­ly kept death-sen­tenced pris­on­ers in sin­gle cells for at least twen­ty-two hours a day with lit­tle-to-no human con­tact. Two recent devel­op­ments in capital…

Read More

News

Aug 30, 2024

Articles of Interest: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Editorial Board Argues that Death Penalty Will Not Bring Justice for Leon Katz

In a new edi­to­r­i­al, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette argues that the death penal­ty is nev­er the jus­tice that is called for” and achieves noth­ing of val­ue except the sat­is­fac­tion of vengeance.” The Post-Gazette describes the death of 6‑week-old Leon Katz in June as an almost unfath­omable” crime and a vio­la­tion of pri­mor­dial inno­cence” — but argues that Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr.’s deci­sion to seek the death penal­ty against Nicole Virzi, Leon’s alleged…

Read More

News

May 08, 2024

New Cardozo Law Review Article Examines the Events in the Lives of Women on U.S. Death Row

A new arti­cle, Gender Matters: Women on Death Row in the United States,” explores the cas­es of 48 women who were sen­tenced to death in the United States between 1990 and 2023. We believe that women’s cap­i­tal sen­tences are best explained by exam­in­ing the events of their lives with­in a larg­er social con­text, and by ana­lyz­ing how those expe­ri­ences — and the women them­selves — were treat­ed with­in the legal sys­tem,” said the authors, who include Sandra Babcock (pic­tured left), a Clinical Professor…

Read More

News

Apr 16, 2024

Trial Judge Signs Agreed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, Recommending Melissa Lucio’s Conviction and Death Sentence Be Overturned

On April 12, 2024, Judge Arturo Nelson signed an Agreed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law sub­mit­ted by the pros­e­cu­tion and defense stat­ing that Melissa Lucio (pic­tured) was not giv­en access to favor­able infor­ma­tion in the prosecution’s pos­ses­sion at the time of tri­al. The acknowl­edge­ment of this con­sti­tu­tion­al error result­ed in Judge Nelson’s rec­om­men­da­tion to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (TCCA) that Ms. Lucio’s con­vic­tion and death sen­tence be over­turned. The rul­ing marks the…

Read More

News

Apr 11, 2024

Rare Agreement Between District Attorney and Defense Counsel Acknowledge Prosecutorial Misconduct and Need for New Trial for Melissa Lucio

On April 5, 2024, Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz and Innocence Project attor­ney Vanessa Potkin released a joint state­ment regard­ing Melissa Lucio’s case, which has been pend­ing addi­tion­al review for almost two years. On January 11, 2023, the par­ties sub­mit­ted an Agreed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law stat­ing that the defense was not giv­en access to favor­able infor­ma­tion in the prosecution’s pos­ses­sion at tri­al, an error that they agree should enti­tle Ms. Lucio to a new…

Read More