DPI Podcast: Discussions With DPIC
Women and the Death Penalty, with Professor Mary Atwell
Current List of Women on Death Row
As of October 7, 2025, the Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide reports there are 47 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 | Williams, Manling | A |
| CA | Modoc | Rhoades, Cherie | N |
| CA | Orange | Alfaro, Maria | L |
| CA | Orange | DeLeon, Skylar Sophia^ | W |
| CA | Orange | Nelson, Tanya | A |
| CA | Riverside | Hann, Jessica Marie^^ | W |
| CA | Riverside | Hunter, Lorraine Alison | B |
| CA | Riverside | Magaña, 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 | Gonzales, Veronica | L |
| CA | Ventura | Caro, Socorro | L |
| FL | Escambia | Brown, Tina | B |
| FL | Santa Rosa | Rodgers, Jenna* | W |
| 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 |
| OH | Lucas | Vixen, Taci** | W |
| OH | Trumbull | Roberts, Donna | W |
| OH | Warren | Drain, Victoria*** | W |
| OK | Oklahoma | Andrew, Brenda | W |
| TN | Knox | Pike, Christa | W |
| TX | Bowie | Parker, Taylor | 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 |
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
Oct 06, 2025
Tennessee’s Execution of Christa Pike Would Make Her the First Woman to be Executed in the State in Over 200 Years
In an order dated September 30, 2025, the Tennessee Supreme Court set an execution date for Christa Pike, the only woman on Tennessee’s death row. If her execution proceeds as scheduled on September 30, 2026, Ms. Pike will be the first woman executed in the state in more than 200 years and the only person executed in Tennessee for a crime committed at age 18, 19 or 20 in the modern death penalty era. > “Life imprisonment is a proper punishment for Christa, just as it…
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Sep 11, 2025
Gender and Capital Punishment: Scholarly Article Examines How Gender Affects Outcomes for Women in Death Penalty Cases
In“Gendered Capital Punishment,” Cornell Law School Clinical Professor Sandra Babcock examines how the gender of actors in capital cases affects outcomes for women defendants. Professor Babcock’s research documents that 96% of women currently sentenced to death in the US were prosecuted by male prosecutors, 89% appeared before male judges, and more than one-third had exclusively male decision-makers throughout their cases. These statistics are relevant, says…
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Jul 08, 2025
ACLU Report Shows How Death Penalty Jury Selection Discriminates Against Black Americans, Women, and People of Faith
A new report from the ACLU documents how the process of selecting juries for death penalty cases systematically excludes Black prospective jurors, women, and people of faith, fundamentally undermining the constitutional promise of a trial by a jury of one’s peers. The report, Fatal Flaws: Revealing the Racial and Religious Gerrymandering of the Capital Jury, examines the practice of“death qualification,” a requirement that potential jurors must be…
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News
Mar 20, 2025
DPI’s Podcast 12:01 The Death Penalty in Context: Sabrina Butler-Smith on Wrongful Convictions and Motherhood
In this month’s podcast episode of 12:01 The Death Penalty in Context, DPI’s Managing Director Anne Holsinger speaks with Sabrina Butler-Smith (pictured), who was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death at age 17 for causing the death of her nine-month-old son. After two years and nine months on death row, Ms. Butler-Smith’s conviction was overturned. At a second trial, it was determined that her son died from a serious medical condition, polycystic kidney disease,…
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Jan 22, 2025
Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Only Woman on Oklahoma Death Row, Confirming Admission of Prejudicial, Gendered Evidence Can Violate Due Process Rights
At Brenda Andrew’s 2004 trial in Oklahoma for the murder of her husband, the prosecutor called witnesses to testify about her“provocative” clothing and her previous sexual relationships, and questioned“whether a good mother would dress or behave” the way she had. Jurors heard Ms. Andrew called a“hoochie” and a“slut puppy.” In his closing argument, the prosecutor opened a suitcase and showed the jury Ms. Andrew’s underwear, asking,“The grieving widow…
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