Wretched sisters : examining gender and capital punishment

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.

• Acknowledgments p. vii
• Acknowledgments (2014) p. ix
• Introduction to the Second Edition p. 1
• Chapter 1 Why So Few and Why These Few? Gender and Criminology p. 11
• Chapter 2 A Capriciously Selected Random Handful p. 25
• Chapter 3 Setting Precedent p. 39
• Chapter 4 She Didn't Look Like a Killer p. 71
• Chapter 5 Domestic Offenses p. 95
• Chapter 6 The Oklahoma Three p. 131
• Chapter 7 Aggravating Circumstances: Killing Children and Cops p. 165
• Chapter 8 The "Monster" p. 189
• Chapter 9 Perilously Close to Simple Murder p. 215
• Chapter 10 Not The "Triggerman" p. 239
• Chapter 11 #500 and #510 p. 265
• Chapter 12 Lessons from Wretched Sisters p. 295
• Bibliography p. 301