Capital punishment is a heavy topic. Most of the time, when we talk about the death penalty in America, the conversation focuses on men. That makes sense, statistically. Men make up the vast, overwhelming majority of death row inmates. But the history of women executed in the US is a completely different kind of story. It’s rare. It’s controversial. And honestly, it’s often deeply tied to specific types of crimes that society finds particularly "unthinkable."
Since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976 (the Gregg v. Georgia decision), executions of women have been exceptionally scarce. We are talking about less than 2% of total executions. It’s a tiny number that carries a massive amount of legal and sociological weight.
Why so few?
Some legal experts, like those at the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), suggest it’s a mix of the nature of the crimes and a lingering judicial "chivalry." Basically, juries are often more hesitant to send a woman to the gurney or the chair. But when they do, the cases are almost always high-profile and involve what the law calls "aggravating factors"—usually involving the killing of children, multiple victims, or a "cold-blooded" financial motive.
The Long Road to the Death House
The legal path for women on death row is rarely a straight line. Often, these cases drag on for decades. Take the case of Velma Barfield. She was the first woman executed after the 1976 reinstatement. A "pious" grandmother from North Carolina, she eventually confessed to poisoning several people with arsenic, including her own mother and her fiancé.
She was executed by lethal injection in 1984.
The Barfield case set a tone. It showed that the system was willing to execute women, but only under specific circumstances where the "nurturer" archetype was completely shattered. When a woman is seen as violating the fundamental social expectation of being a caregiver, the legal system's leniency tends to evaporate.
There’s a lot of talk about "gender bias" in the court system, but it cuts both ways. Some argue women get lighter sentences for the same crimes as men. Others point out that when women are sentenced to death, they are often judged more harshly for their perceived "moral failures" as mothers or wives than for the act of murder itself. It’s complicated stuff.
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Lisa Montgomery and the Federal Exception
Most women executed in the US are handled at the state level. Texas, for instance, has executed more women than any other state in the modern era, which shouldn't really surprise anyone familiar with their justice system. But the case of Lisa Montgomery changed the conversation because it was federal.
Montgomery was executed in January 2021. Her crime was horrific—there’s no other way to put it. She drove from Kansas to Missouri, strangled a pregnant woman named Bobbie Jo Stinnett, and cut the baby from her womb. The baby survived.
Her execution was the first federal execution of a female inmate in nearly 70 years.
The debate around Montgomery wasn't about whether she did it. She did. It was about her mental state. Her defense team provided mountains of evidence regarding a lifetime of horrific abuse, sex trafficking, and brain damage. This is where the "expert" side of the debate gets messy. Should a history of extreme trauma mitigate a death sentence? The Trump administration’s Justice Department said no. They pushed for the execution to proceed in the final days of his term.
The Reality of the "Death Row" Wait
If you look at the list of women currently on death row, you’ll notice they’ve been there a long time.
- Texas: Still holds several women, including Linda Carty and Brittany Holberg.
- California: Has the largest death row in the country, though they currently have a moratorium on executions.
- The South: States like Alabama and Mississippi continue to pursue death sentences for women at a higher rate than the West Coast or Northeast.
Life on death row for a woman is incredibly isolating. Because there are so few of them, they are often kept in small wings of larger prisons, sometimes with only one or two other inmates. It’s not like the movies. It’s a lot of sitting. A lot of appeals.
It's also worth noting that many women who receive death sentences eventually have them overturned. This happens way more often than it does for men. Why? Usually, it's because of "ineffective assistance of counsel." Basically, their original lawyers didn't do a good enough job explaining the woman’s background or mental health to the jury.
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When a case is sent back for a new sentencing hearing, many of these women end up with life without parole instead of death.
Breaking Down the Demographics and Statistics
Let's look at the numbers without getting bogged down in a boring spreadsheet. Since 1632—yes, we’ve been keeping records that long—around 575 women have been executed in what is now the United States. In the modern era (post-1976), that number is only 18.
States that have executed women since 1976:
Texas (6), Oklahoma (3), Florida (2), and several others with one each (Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, and the Federal Government).
The racial breakdown is also a major point of study for groups like the ACLU. While the majority of women executed since 1976 have been white, there are persistent concerns about how the race of the victim influences the sentence. Historically, if the victim is white and the defendant is a person of color, the likelihood of a death sentence spikes. This isn't just an opinion; it's a trend backed up by decades of sentencing data.
Kelly Gissendaner and the Power of Public Opinion
In 2015, Georgia executed Kelly Gissendaner. This case was unique because even the Pope weighed in. Gissendaner didn't actually pull the trigger; she conspired with her lover to kill her husband.
While in prison, she underwent a massive transformation. She earned a theology degree. She became a mentor to other inmates. Her kids, the ones who lost their father, actually advocated for her life to be spared.
The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles didn't budge.
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This case highlights a specific legal reality: the "Law of Parties." In many states, if you are involved in a felony that results in death, you are just as liable as the person who committed the actual murder. For many women executed in the US, this is how they end up on death row. They weren't necessarily the ones who committed the violence, but they were legally "principals" in the crime.
What People Get Wrong About Female Capital Cases
There’s this myth that women "get away with murder" more often than men. It's not that simple. While it's true that women are less likely to be sentenced to death, they are also less likely to commit the types of crimes that qualify for it. Most homicides committed by women are "crimes of passion" involving domestic partners or family members, which often don't meet the legal criteria for "first-degree capital murder."
When a woman does cross that line—especially if it involves premeditation or multiple victims—the system often reacts with a specific kind of intensity. It’s as if the "shock value" of a female killer leads to a more aggressive prosecution.
The Current State of Affairs
Right now, the death penalty is in a state of flux. Many states are moving toward abolition. Others have "active" death rows but haven't actually executed anyone in years because they can't get the drugs for lethal injection.
For the women currently waiting on death row, the future is uncertain. Many will likely die of old age before an execution date is ever set. Others, like those in Texas, face a much more immediate threat.
The legal system is also seeing a rise in "trauma-informed" defense. Lawyers are getting better at explaining how domestic violence, sex work, and systemic poverty contribute to the crimes their clients commit. This doesn't excuse the crime, but it provides context that can move a jury from "death" to "life."
Actionable Insights for Researching This Topic
If you’re looking to dive deeper into the legalities of capital punishment as it applies to women, don’t just look at the headlines. Headlines are designed for clicks.
- Check the DPIC database: The Death Penalty Information Center is the gold standard for raw data. They have a specific section dedicated to women.
- Read the trial transcripts: If you can find them, the "Mitigation" phase of a trial is where the real story lives. This is where the defense presents the life story of the accused.
- Follow the "Innocence Project": While less common with women, there are cases where new DNA evidence or forensic science (like the debunking of "shaken baby syndrome" theories) has led to exonerations.
- Look at state-specific clemency boards: Every state has a different process for how a governor or a board can commute a death sentence. Understanding these rules is key to knowing why some women are executed and others aren't.
The history of women on death row is a mirror of our society's views on gender, justice, and redemption. It's not a comfortable topic, but it's an essential part of understanding how the American legal system actually functions when the stakes are as high as they can possibly get.
The most effective way to stay informed is to monitor the active dockets in states like Texas and Alabama, where execution warrants are still regularly issued. Pay attention to the "certificates of appealability" in federal courts, as these often signal the final legal hurdles before an execution is scheduled. Understanding the difference between state and federal jurisdiction is also vital, as federal cases follow a much stricter and often faster timeline once appeals are exhausted.