Convicted murderer to be put to death for 1997 case
The state of Texas is scheduled to execute a female death row inmate tonight. However, not everyone thinks the punishment is justice.
Kimberly McCarthy is set to receive a lethal injection at 6 o'clock tonight for the 1997 murder of retired teacher Dorothy Booth. But anti-death penalty activist Gloria Rubac told KTRH McCarthy should be spared because she was dealing with drug addiction when the murder occurred.
“Crack is a very insidious addiction that totally alters somebody’s brain to the point they do things they normally would not have done,” Rubac said.
But Jean Hill, whose son Barry, a Harris County deputy, was killed in the line of duty13 years ago, says drug addict or not, McCarthy doesn't deserve a last minute reprieve.
“Being on drugs is a choice. I always told my kids if you make choices you pay for them. So always make the right choice,” Hill explained from her home in California.
Only three women have been put to death by Texas since the death penalty came back in 1982. McCarthy becomes the fifth tonight. Rubac is surprised there hasn't been a lot of talk about this case.
“I was hoping there would be a little more interest in her case because she’s a woman. When other women were executed there was more interest with them than there has been with some of the men,” Rubac said.
Hill said that being a woman doesn't have any impact at all for her.
“Being a woman should have nothing to do with it. You do the crime, you pay,” Hill stated.
McCarthy is one of ten women currently on Texas' death row. However, she is the only one with an execution date. Besides the Booth murder, McCarthy was implicated in, but never charged with, two other killings.
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