Well, Ms. Kimberly McCarthy can breathe, for now. A Texas judge stopped her execution just hours before her lethal injection. Hip Hop Wired reports:
Kimberly McCarthy was set to become the first U.S. woman executed since 2010, but a Texas judge stopped proceedings
at the very last minute. The 51-year-old was to be put to death via
lethal injection late Tuesday, prior to a reprieve issued by State District Judge Larry Mitchell.
Lawyers for McCarthy will now be given extra time to pursue an
appeal, on grounds that their client was convicted based on racial bias.
The jury that found the former nursing home therapist guilty was
comprised of 11 White jurors. "We want to make sure everything is done
correctly," said District Court Judge Craig Atkins.
If no wrongdoing is found, Mitchell will be executed in 60 days.
Prosecutors have decided not to appeal the ruling. "I'm happy right
now over that," McCarthy told prison agency spokesman John Hurt.
"There's still work to be done on my case."
McCarthy is accused in the 1997 murder of her elderly neighbor, Dorothy Booth.
McCarthy cut off the victim's finger, and sold her wedding ring for
$200 to buy drugs. She was also tied to the murders of two other people.
Mitchell's new execution date has been scheduled for April 3.
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