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GA’s Only Woman On Death Row Denied Clemency

The other evening while casually strolling through my twitter feed, a tweet from a local news headline grabbed my attention.

“Georgia Woman’s Execution Delayed Until March”

The headline stuck out like a typo because you just don’t hear of very many women being sentenced to the death penalty, and especially not actually being executed. Needless to the say the headline deeply intrigued me; I had to know the back story. What on earth did this woman do to land herself on death row? How long has she been there?

DEATH ROW

The name alone sounds like no place for a woman. Very few states still exercise capital punishment, especially against women offenders. There is currently one woman, Lisa Montgomery of Missouri, on Federal death row. Majority of inmates on death row remain there many years while their legal counsel battles the courts and parole boards in attempts of gaining a new trial, sentence reduction –any break possible. Very few inmates, particularly killers are granted clemency; approximately 13% of those who receive a death sentence are executed. Continue reading “GA’s Only Woman On Death Row Denied Clemency”

Why Do Girls Join Gangs?

cholas — A “chola” is a female gangster and is often times as ruthless as her male counterparts, “cholos”

According to research on female gang members, poor home life, a search for an identity, and a search for social interaction and belonging are the main reasons girls join gangs. In poor urban areas, “the home lives of gang girls are marked frequently by breakdown and dysfunction, at worst resulting in physical and sexual abuse”. Many girls who do not have a loving home or support structure seek it outside of the home in hopes that the gang will be their surrogate family. This is exemplified in the observation that, “gang members refer to one another as ‘sisters’ or ‘homegirls” and to the gang as a ‘family’… which conjure the sense of belonging and identification”. Continue reading “Why Do Girls Join Gangs?”