NCJ Number
116815
Date Published
1989
Length
42 pages
Annotation
This preliminary report on the first stages of a study of American executions of female offenders and associated social and legal environments presents data on past executions and current death sentences for female offenders.
Abstract
For data, the study has used a literature review, local county histories, unpublished court records, and old newspapers and magazines. Data cover 1632-1988, with particular attention to the post-Furman period (1973-88). A total of 397 executions of female offenders have occurred since the first one in 1632. Such executions peaked in the 19th century, notably in the decades just before the Civil War, and have decreased markedly in recent times. Blacks have constituted 60 percent of the females executed, but only 22 percent of females sentenced to death since 1973 have been blacks. Most of the females executed were convicted of murder. The execution of females in particular States has undergone dramatic change, for example, Virginia, the all-time leader in the execution of females over the centuries, has not sentenced any females to death since 1973. Florida, on the other hand, has undergone the opposite trend. Overall, the death penalty for female offenders will probably continue, albeit at a very low level. 16 tables, 78 notes.