States have executed 11 women since '84
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Thirty-eight states and the U.S. government have the death penalty. No woman has been executed by the federal government in almost 53 years, but state executions have become more common, especially in the South.
Eleven women have been put to death by six states since 1984.
The most recent was Frances E. Newton, 40, in Texas. She was convicted of shooting her husband and two children, a 7-year-old son and 21-month-old daughter, to collect life insurance policies. The state executed her Sept. 14, 2005, more than 18 years after the killings.
The other women put to death in recent times:
Aileen Wuornos, 46, by Florida on Oct. 9, 2002. Believed to be one of the country's few female serial killers, she murdered six men.
Lynda Lyon Block, 54, by Alabama on May 10, 2002. Convicted in the 1994 murder of a police sergeant. Her common-law husband also was executed for the killing.
Lois N. Smith, 61, by Oklahoma on Dec. 4, 2001. Convicted in the stabbing death of her son's former girlfriend.
Marilyn Plantz, 40, by Oklahoma on May 1, 2001. Convicted of hiring two 18-year-olds to murder her husband with baseball bats. One of the men also was executed. The other received a life sentence.
Wanda J. Allen, 41, by Oklahoma on Jan. 11, 2001. She was executed for the shooting death of her female lover. Ms. Allen previously had served four years in prison for manslaughter in the shooting death of another woman.
Christina Riggs, 28, by Arkansas on May 2, 2000. Convicted of smothering her two children, ages 2 and 5.
Betty L. Beets, 62, by Texas on Feb. 24, 2000. Convicted of shooting and killing her fifth husband to collect insurance and pension benefits.
Judy Buenoano, 54, by Florida on March 30, 1998. She received the death sentence for murdering her husband. She also had convictions for drowning her paraplegic son and blowing up her fiance's car.
Karla F. Tucker, 38, by Texas on Feb. 3, 1998. Convicted of murdering two people with a pickax.
Velma Barfield, 52, by North Carolina on Nov. 2, 1984. Convicted of poisoning her fiance.
Pennsylvania last executed a woman in 1946. She was Corrine Sykes, 22, a Philadelphia maid convicted in the stabbing death of the wealthy woman who employed her.
In Ohio, the state where Donna Moonda faces federal charges, a woman was last put to death in 1954. She was Betty Butler, convicted on a state charge of murdering her female lover.
First Published September 24, 2006 12:00 am
