A rare female execution is scheduled for later today in Texas. Kimberly McCarthy, who was convicted of murdering her neighbor in 1997, is scheduled to die by lethal injection.
According to Reuters , McCarthy will be the first female to face execution in more than two years. She will be the 13 female since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976 to die by execution.
Richard Dieter, executive director of Death Penalty Information Center, said:
“Although women commit about 10 percent of murders, capital cases also require some aggravating factor like rape, robbery, or physical abuse. It’s unclear whether jurors or prosecutors may be more lenient in potential prosecutions of women, since there are relatively few.”
According to the Star Telegram , McCarthy entered the home of Dorothy Booth on July 21, 1997 telling her neighbor that she wanted to borrow some sugar. She then killed booth and chopped off her finger in order to steal her diamond ring. Prosecutors also believe that McCarthy may be responsible for the murder of two other women.
McCarthy was convicted in 1998 and was sentenced to death. The conviction was overturned in 2001 because McCarthy did not have an attorney present when she was being questioned about the crime. She was retried in 2002 and was sentenced to death again.
Wayne Huff, McCarthy’s attorney, tried to get the Supreme Court to review the case before McCarthy’s execution date. The Supreme Court denied the request but Huff has filed a clemency request to Texas Governor Rick Perry.
Huff said: “We’re working on seeing if there are any other avenues we can take.”
If the McCarthy is executed later today, she will be the second person to be executed in the United States this year. In 2012, 43 people were executed.
