There are currently 45 women in the United States that are on death row after they were found guilty of heinous acts, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. While some of the women have made headlines for their crimes and have been catapulted into the spotlight, others’ stories have not garnered the same attention.
In the United States, only 14 states allow the death sentence.
The youngest woman on death row in the state of Texas is Taylor Parker, whose crime was documented in Netflix’s June 2026 documentary Maternal Instinct. Us Weekly breaks down all of the women sentenced to death, below.
Taylor Parker
Parker was sentenced to death after she killed expectant mother Reagan Simmons-Hancock in October 2020. Following the killing, Parker – who was pretending to be pregnant at the time – cut Simmons-Hancock’s unborn daughter out of her body and claimed to police that she had just given birth to the baby. After doctors confirmed that Parker had not given birth to the child, she was arrested in connection to Simmons-Hancock and her child’s death and was sentenced to death in October 2022.
She is currently on death row at Patrick L. O’Daniel Unit in Gatesville, Texas, and is awaiting an execution date.
Christa Gail Pike
Christa Gail Pike is currently on death row in Tennessee after she was convicted of murdering former classmate 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in 1995. After Pike grew to believe that Slemmer was trying to steal her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, she and Shipp lured the victim into the woods and fatally beat her.
Shipp was convicted of murder and conspiracy and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. He did not receive the death sentence because he was 17 years old at the time of the killing. He remains in prison after he was denied parole in October 2025.
Meanwhile, Pike remains on death row at Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center in Nashville, Tennessee, and is scheduled to be executed on September 30, 2026.
Brenda Andrew
Brenda Andrew was sentenced to death by Oklahoma County District Judge Susan Bragg after she was convicted in the 2001 death of her estranged husband, Rob Andrew. Following the killing, Andrew staged the crime scene to make it look like Bragg was attacked by masked intruders.
Brenda orchestrated the killing with her lover, James Pavatt, who shot Rob multiple times. The pair came up with the plot amid divorce proceedings and an $800,000 life insurance policy.
Pavatt was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. He was given the death penalty and an additional 10 years in prison for the conspiracy conviction. Pavatt remains on death row.
Meanwhile, Brenda is currently the only woman on death row in Oklahoma and she doesn’t currently have an execution date.
Shawna Forde
Shawna Forde was charged with the murders of Raul Flores Jr. and his daughter, Brisenia Ylianna Flores, during a home invasion in Arivaca, Arizona, on May 30, 2009. Flores Jr. was 29 years old at the time, while Flores was just 9 years old. Forde was sentenced to death in 2011 after she was found guilty of first-degree murder.
Forde is one of three women on death row in Arizona and has not yet been given an execution date.
Sammantha Uriarte
Sammantha Uriarte, also known as Sammantha Allen, was sentenced to death in August 2017 after she was found guilty of murdering her 10-year-old cousin, Ame Deal, in 2011 in Arizona. Uriarte and three other family members were charged with disciplining the girl by forcing her to do exercise in sweltering July heat, while they were also accused of locking her in a tiny footlocker overnight. She is one of three women on death row in Arizona and does not yet have an execution date.
Patricia Blackmon
Patricia Blackmon is currently on death row in Alabama after she was convicted of fatally beating her 28-month-old daughter, Dominiqua, in 1999. During the trial, the judge ruled that Blackmon was deserving of the death penalty because Dominiqua’s death was considered to be heinous and cruel. The child sustained several injuries, including a fractured skull.
Blackmon is one of five women on death row in Alabama and is awaiting her execution date.
Wendi Andriano
Wendi Andriano was sentenced to death in the state of Arizona in December 2004 after she was found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of her husband, Joe Andriano. Joe was struck in the head at least 23 times and stabbed in the neck, while investigators also found pesticides in his stomach.
Wendi claimed that Joe was physically and psychologically abusive during their relationship, though their friends said they never observed any signs of abuse.
Andriano is one of three women on death row in Arizona and a date has not yet been set for her execution.
Christie Michelle Scott
Christie Michelle Scott is one of five women waiting to be executed in the state of Alabama after she was convicted of killing her 6-year-old son, Mason, in a house fire in 2008. The murder took place shortly after she took out a life insurance policy on him.
Scott does not yet have an execution date.
Tierra Capri Gobble
One of five of the female death row inmates in Alabama is Tierra Capri Gobble, who was convicted of killing her 4-month-old son, Phoenix, in 2004. Phoenix died of blunt-force trauma to the head, while he also suffered fractures to the ribs, both wrists and his right arm. He was also found with bruises on his face, head, neck and chest. Meanwhile, a tear was found on the inside of Phoenix’s mouth that authorities said was consistent with a bottle having been shoved into his mouth.
Gobble has not been assigned an execution date as of time of publication.
Lisa Carpenter Graham
Lisa Carpenter Graham is one of five women on death row in Alabama after she was convicted of hiring a hit man to kill her daughter, 21-year-old Stephanie Shae Graham, in 2007.
Prior to her killing, Stephanie was allegedly using cocaine, stripping and had been arrested for her involvement in a drive-by shooting. Lisa allegedly believed her daughter was ruining her life, and she offered to pay neighbor Kenneth Walton $5,000 to kill her.
On the day of the killing, Walton convinced Stephanie to meet him at a Racetrac gas station and he lured her to a secluded area before he shot her in the head twice.
Walton pleaded guilty to murder and is currently serving life in prison. Meanwhile, Lisa does not yet have an execution date as she remains on death row.
Heather Leavell Keaton
Heather Leavell Keaton, who is the fourth of five women on death row in Alabama, was convicted of helping her common-law husband, John DeBlase, kill his two children, Chase, 3, and Natalie, 4, in 2010.
While she was originally given the death sentence in 2015, an appeals court overturned the sentence because she was not given the opportunity to speak on her own behalf during sentencing. However, she was once again sentenced to death in 2021.
DeBlase is also currently on death row in Alabama. Neither Keaton nor DeBlase have execution dates.
Michelle Michaud
Michelle Michaud was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping and multiple counts of oral copulation with special circumstances of kidnapping and rape by instrument in connection to the 1997 abduction and murder of Vanessa Lei Samson alongside her then-boyfriend, James Anthony Daveggio. Both Michaud and Daveggio were found guilty in May 2002 and were sentenced to death in the state of California.
Michaud is one of the 19 women on death row in California and does not yet have an execution date, while Daveggio also remains on death row as he awaits his execution.
Valerie Martin
Valerie Martin landed herself on death row in California in 2010 after she was convicted of murder in connection to the 2003 death of her boyfriend, William Whiteside. She is among the 19 women on death row in California and does not yet have an execution date.
Maureen McDermott
Maureen McDermott was convicted of first-degree murder and attempted murder after she was linked to a 1985 murder-for-hire plot, in which she planned to kill her roommate, Stephen Eldridge. The plot was successful and Eldridge died inside of their home in Van Nuys, California.
A California jury found her guilty and she was sentenced to death. McDermott remains on death row as she awaits her execution date.
Manling Williams
Manling Williams was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder for the 2007 killings of her husband, Neal Williams, and their two young sons, Devon and Ian. A California jury found her guilty in November 2010 and she was sentenced to death. Williams has not yet been given an execution date.
Cherie Rhoades
Cherie Rhoades was convicted of four counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder after she was involved in a mass shooting in 2014. The shooting – which took place in California – ultimately killed four people. She is currently on death row in Central California Women’s Facility. She does not yet have an execution date.
Maria Alfaro
Maria Alfaro was convicted of first-degree murder, first-degree residential burglary and first-degree residential robbery following a home invasion and burglary where she stabbed 9-year-old Autumn Wallace 57 times. Two years after the 1990 crime, she was sentenced to death in California in 1992. She does not have an execution date.
Skylar Sophia DeLeon
Skylar Sophia DeLeon was convicted in 2008 on three counts of first-degree murder for financial gain, with special circumstances. The charges stemmed from two separate incidents.
The first incident saw DeLeon lure John Jarvi to Mexico under the guise of an easy-money business deal in December 2003. She then slit his throat, stole $50,000 from him and abandoned his body near a Mexican highway.
The second incident took place in November 2004 when she murdered Tom Hawks and Jackie Hawks by posing as a prospective buyer for their massive yacht in Newport Beach, California.
DeLeon, who underwent gender transition in prison was formally sentenced to death by a jury in April 2009. She is one of the 19 women on death row in California and she does not yet have an execution date.
Tanya Nelson
Tanya Nelson was convicted of two felony counts of special-circumstance murder, as well as robbery and identity theft in February 2010. The charges stemmed from the 2005 stabbing deaths of Westminster fortune teller Ha Smith and her adult daughter, Anita Vo. She is one of the 19 women on death row in the state of California.
Jessica Marie Hann
Jessica Marie Hann was sentenced to death after she was found guilty of first-degree murder and assault on a child causing great bodily injury for the fatal abuse. She was charged in connection to the death of her 10-month-old daughter, Montana, in 2001. However, she admitted during the trial that she also killed her son when he was just 2 months old two years earlier.
Hann, who underwent gender transition in prison, is one of the 19 women on death row in California.
Lorraine Alison Hunter
Lorraine Alison Hunter was found guilty of first-degree murder in connection to the killing of her husband, Albert Thomas, in 2009. A jury came to the conclusion that Hunter killed Thomas for financial gain so that she could collect over $1 million in life insurance payouts. She is currently on death row in California alongside 18 other women.
Belinda Magaña
Belinda Magaña was convicted of first-degree murder, torture, mayhem and child abuse following the 2009 death of her 2-and-a-half-year-old son, Malachi Magaña. Magaña and her boyfriend, Naresh Narine, were both sentenced to death after the jury was presented with evidence that revealed the toddler was repeatedly beaten and was left without medical care for five days before he died. She is among the 19 women on death row in California.
Brooke Rottiers
Brooke Marie Rottiers was working as a prostitute in 2006 when she lured two day laborers, Marvin Gabriel and Milton Chavez, into a motel in Corona, California. She and two codefendants then held them at gunpoint, robbed them and brutally beat the men to death.
Rottiers was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and a special circumstance of robbery, and she was sentenced to death in 2010. She is one of the nine women on death row in California.
Cathy Sariñana
Cathy Sariñana was found guilty of first-degree murder with a special circumstance of torture and child endangerment in March 2009. She and her husband, Raul Ricardo Sariñana, were both sentenced to death after they were found guilty of the fatal abuse of their 11-year-old nephew, Ricky Morales. Additionally, the couple was linked to the death of Ricky’s 13-year-old brother, Conrad Morales. She is among the 19 women on death row in California.
Janeen Snyder
Janeen Snyder was convicted of first-degree murder, attempted sodomy and multiple special circumstance allegations, including torture, kidnapping and sexual assault in 2006. The charges were in connection to the 2001 death of 16-year-old Michelle Curran. The jury ultimately decided that Snyder, who was also convicted of sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations, would be sentenced to death. Synder, who is one of 19 women on death row, has not yet received her execution date.
Kerry Dalton
Kerry Lyn Dalton was found guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in 1995 in connection to the 1988 death of Irene “Melanie” May. Dalton accused May of stealing her jewelry and being a police informant. She severely beat, stabbed and injected the victim with battery acid.
Dalton is currently one of 19 women on death row in California, and she does not yet have an execution date.
Veronica Gonzales
Veronica Gonzales was convicted of murdering her 4-year-old niece after a jury came to believe that the murder was intentional, involved the infliction of torture and took place while Gonzales was engaged in the commission and attempted commission of mayhem. Gonzales was sentenced to death in 1998 and is currently the one of 19 women awaiting execution in California.
Socorro Caro
Socorro Caro was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder in November 2001 after a jury determined she was responsible for the fatal shootings of her three young sons in their home in Camarillo, California. She is one of the 19 women on death row in the state.
Tina Brown
Tina Brown was found guilty of premeditated first-degree murder in 2012 after she brutally attacked and killed 19-year-old Audreanna Zimmerman in 2010. A Florida jury unanimously decided that she should receive the death penalty before she was formally sentenced in October 2013. She is the second out of two women on death row in the state.
Jenna Rodgers
Jenna Rodgers, who was transitioned after her arrest, and accomplice Jonathan Lawrence murdered Jennifer Robinson in 1998. The duo also killed Lawrence’s mentally disabled cousin, Justin Livingston, during a two-month crime spree in Santa Rosa County, Florida. She is the first out of two women on death row in the state.
Tiffany Moss
Tiffany Moss was convicted of murder, first-degree cruelty to children and concealing the death of another after a jury determined that she starved her 10-year-old stepdaughter, Emani Moss, to death in 2013. She is the only woman in Georgia on death row.
Robin Row
Robin Row was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder and aggravated arson in 1993 after she set fire to her family’s apartment in Boise, Idaho, in February 1992. She killed her husband and two young children in the fire, which was set while they were sleeping. She is the only woman in Idaho on death row.
Virginia Caudill
Virginia Caudill was found guilty of murder, first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary, second-degree arson and tampering with physical evidence for her role in a 1998 robbery and burglary, as well as the brutal attack death of 73-year-old Lonetta White in Lexington, Kentucky. Following the killing, Caudill and her accomplice, Jonathan Wayne Goforth, stuffed White’s body in the trunk of her car and set it on fire in an attempt to cover up the crime. She is the only woman in Kentucky that’s on death row.
Goforth was also sentenced to death row, but he died following his battle with complications of a chronic illness before he was executed in July 2025, according to Fox 56 News.
Antoinette Frank
Antoinette Frank, who was a former police officer in New Orleans, was convicted of killing three people in 1995. While working with accomplice Rogers LaCaze, the duo robbed the Kim Anh Noodle House in New Orleans and fatally shot an off-duty police officer and two siblings who worked at the restaurant.
She was found guilty in 1995 and was subsequently sentenced to death, and she is currently the only woman on death row in Louisiana. Meanwhile, LaCaze remains in prison after he was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
Lisa Chamberlin
Lisa Chamberlin was convicted on two counts of capital murder in 2006 in connection to the deaths of Vernon Hulett and Linda Heintzelman. The victims’ dismembered bodies were found in a freezer by law enforcement on March 29, 2004, in an abandoned farmhouse in Kansas. She is the only woman on death row in Mississippi.
Chamberlin’s then-boyfriend, Roger Lee Gillett, was also arrested in connection to the killings and is now on death row.
Blanche T. Moore
In 1999, Blanche Taylor Moore was found guilty of first-degree murder of her boyfriend, Raymond Reid, after she poisoned him with arsenic.
After authorities discovered that Reid died from arsenic poisoning, an investigation was launched and officers learned that Moore’s then-husband, Reverend Dwight Moore, became violently ill and was hospitalized. Tests later revealed that he had high levels of arsenic in his system.
As the findings from the investigation were shared with the court, the jury concluded that Blanche also poisoned her first husband, James Taylor, and her father. It’s suspected that Blanche is a serial killer, as it’s also believed that she killed her father and mother-in-law.
Blanche is one of two women on death row in North Carolina.
Carlette Parker
Carlette Parker was sentenced to death in August 2006 after a jury found her guilty of the first-degree kidnapping and first-degree murder of 86-year-old Alice Covington.
“For all they’ve endured, I tell them now, I’m sorry,” Parker said at her sentencing, according to WRAL. “No one in this room is in the position to judge me. They can sentence me, they can even make an example out of me, but God Almighty is the only one who can stand in judgement of me.”
Parker is the second woman on death row in North Carolina.
Taci Vixen
Taci Vixen, who transitioned to female while in prison, was convicted of aggravated murder, aggravated kidnapping and robbery in 1994. The charges were in connection to her involvement in the 1993 murder of Chris Hammer.
Alongside accomplice Archie Dixon, Vixen beat up Hammer, tied him up and buried him alive in a wooded area outside of Toledo, Ohio, so that they could steal his car and sell it. She is one of two women on death row in Ohio.
Dixon was also sentenced to death after being convicted of murder, kidnaping, robbery and forgery.
Victoria Drain
Victoria Drain was sentenced to death following the 2009 fatal beating of Christopher Richardson. Drain, who is transgender, was already in prison after she was convicted of other charges at the time of the incident.
Drain and Richardson were inmates in the residential treatment unit at Warren Correctional Institution in Ohio when she tried to enlist him in a plot to kill an inmate that she believed was a convicted child molester. Richardson backed out of the plan, and Drain killed him to keep him from exposing the murder plot.
Drain is currently one of two women on death row in Ohio.
Melissa Lucio
Melissa Lucio was convicted of capital murder in 2008 in connection to the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Mariah. During the trial, prosecutors argued that Mariah’s injuries were the result of prolonged physical abuse. However, Lucio’s defense attorneys insisted that the child’s injuries were caused by an accidental fall down a flight of stairs that took place two days before her death. She is one of seven women on death row in Texas.
Darlie Routier
Darlie Routier was convicted of capital murder after she was accused of killing her 6-year-old son Devon and 5-year-old son Damon. The jury came to the conclusion in 1997 that she was guilty after prosecutors argued she staged a home invasion to cover up the crime. It was later argued that she was trying to conceal financial struggles when she murdered her children. She is one of seven women on death row in Texas.
Linda Carty
Linda Carty was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death for her involvement in the abduction and fatal suffocation of Joana Rodriguez in 2001. Prosecutors claimed that Carty orchestrated the kidnapping of Rodriguez and her newborn son so that she could steal the baby. Carty is one of seven women on death row in Texas.
Erica Sheppard
Erica Sheppard was convicted of capital murder and robbery after she and her accomplice, James Dickerson, attacked and killed Marilyn Meagher in her Texas apartment in 1993. Their motive was so they could steal her car.
Dickerson was the person who fatally shot Meagher, though Sheppard was convicted under Texas’s law of parties and was sentenced to death in 1995. She is one out of seven women awaiting execution in the state and does not yet have an execution date.
Dickerson was also sentenced to death, but he died on death row in 1999 following his battle with AIDS.
Brittany Holberg
Brittany Holberg was convicted of capital murder in 1998 after she robbed and killed 80-year-old A.B. Towery by stabbing him 58 times and shoving an 11-inch piece of lamp post down his throat. She is one out of seven women on death row in the state of Texas and doesn’t currently have an execution date.
Kimberly Cargill
Kimberly Cargill was sentenced to death in Texas in 2012 for the murder of her son’s babysitter Cherry Walker. Cargill killed Walker, 39, by asphyxiation so that the victim could not testify against her in a Child Protective Service case. After she killed Walker, Cargill dumped Walker’s body, doused it in lighter fluid and set it on fire.
She is one out of seven women on death row in the state and has not yet been scheduled for her execution.
