Wretched Sisters : Examining Gender and Capital Punishment

by Mary Welek Atwell

Overview

Since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976, fourteen women have been put to death in the United States. The criminal justice system defines crimes committed by women in a particularly gendered context. Wretched Sisters is unique in its analysis of the legal and cultural circumstances that determine why a small number of women are sentenced to death and provides a detailed account of how these fourteen women came to be subjected to the ultimate punishment.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781433122347
Publisher:	Peter Lang Pub Inc
Publication date:	10/09/2014
Series:	Studies in Crime and Punishment , #20
Edition description:	2nd Revised ed.
Pages:	307
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Mary Welek Atwell holds a PhD in history from Saint Louis University. She is Professor Emerita of Criminal Justice at Radford University. She is the author of Equal Protection of the Law: Gender and Justice in the United States (2002) and Evolving Standards of Decency: Popular Culture and Capital Punishment (2004).

Table of Contents

Contents: Why So Few and Why These Few? Gender and Criminology – A Capriciously Selected Random Handful – Setting Precedent – She Didn’t Look Like a Killer – Domestic Offenses – The Oklahoma Three – Aggravating Circumstances: Killing Children and Cops – The «Monster» – Perilously Close to Simple Murder – Not The «Triggerman» – #500 and #510 – Lessons from Wretched Sisters.