State Executes Black Woman
From Times Wire Reports
A woman convicted of murdering a lesbian lover was executed, becoming the first black woman executed in the United States since 1954. Wanda Jean Allen, 41, received a lethal dose of drugs at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. Gov. Frank Keating denied a late request for a 30-day stay, and a federal appeals court and the U.S. Supreme Court also refused to block the execution. Allen’s supporters had argued she should be spared because she was borderline mentally retarded.
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