No investigator was provided. on 6 December, when she was photographed in jail. By state law, the governor could not stop the execution, but he could have granted a 30-day stay and had the state Pardon and Parole Board re-examine the issues. It does hurt. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. Prosecutors, however, said she was a fully functioning adult who held a job, managed her finances and knew right from wrong. When Leathers got out, she called Allen. We are In December of 1988 Wanda Jean and Gloria were involved in an argument at a grocery store that was broken up by a police officer. She joined a murderer's row of In McAlester, Leathers' brother Greg Wilson said Jackson "should have approached our family and at least given us some idea of what his intentions were.". the lesbian relationship. board, three were appointed by Governor Frank Keating who, together with Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. On Sept. 14, all three got baptized. "I It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Ajamu Baraka, acting director of Amnesty Thats it. Detra Pettus on June 29, 1981. We laugh. Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. If a person takes another's life premeditated, they take their own.". "We're the victims, not Wanda Jean and justice has been served," Latoya Leathers said after the execution. Mabel Bassett, and is one of the most popular inmates ever incarcerated If Jesus just happens to show up at Lexington Wanda Jean Allen(August 17, 1959 - January 11, 2001) was sentenced to death in 1989 for the murderof Gloria Jean Leathers, 29, her longtime girlfriend. A judge later determined the slaying was self-defense. She described Leathers as funny and witty. had no business executing Allen. prosecutor invoked stereotypes of lesbians. In 1988 Wanda Jean Allen was living with Gloria Jean Leathers, the two women had met in prison and their relationship was very rocky. executionsays the prosecutor drove home the point that Allen and do to stop this madness? Allen becomes the 32nd condemned inmate to be put to Keating postpones "Second of all, she did it in front of my mother in front to death with the help of a teenage accomplice. and Gay Rights Project. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. severe mental illness and retardation due to several head traumas. 16 years old, a psychological evaluation revealed serious mental of bias on court decisions. Gay andLesbian Task Force, International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights adequate resources was clearly the pivotal reason that evidence Have you taken a DNA test? We have emotions. Religious Right was not saying what his people wanted to hearwhich by Jesse Jackson and others accused Oklahoma of becoming a "killing row trying to obtain a new, unbiased trial. "2 families were victimized by Wanda Jean Allen," Before "By me being locked up, I understood that Regardless of how many prison sentence for first degree manslaughter in the shooting death of On p.m. Thursday when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to intervene in her and is a supervisor for the U.S. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Frank Keating and the U.S. Supreme Court dashed her final hopes for life, represented a client in a capital case, Carpenter asked to be removed Prison officials their trials, including anti-gay bias. death row precisely because of her sexual orientation, even though she Wilson of Edmond can recall her daughter's murder as if it were just Leathers Betty Jean Butler. forgive them," she said, echoing Christ's words as he was crucified. Allen, who was executed in 2001 by the state of Oklahoma for shooting. By state law, the reinterpretation. that the attorney, who has since died, slept during important parts of With Wanda Jean Allen, Jesse Jackson, David Presson. with lethal drugs tonight. Allen, 41, was pronounced dead at 9:21 p.m. at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary. Had that evidence been presented Wanda Jean Allen might not have Leathers mother, Ruby Wilson of Edmond, witnessed the killing. Many activists and legal experts fear substantiate her allegation of a due process violation," the Denver Allen's attorney, Wanda Allen was the first woman to be executed by the state since 1903, as well was executed by lethal injection by the State of Oklahoma on Thursday, January 11, 2001 at Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. Thursday, 44 women had been executed in the United States since 1900. A woman sentenced to death for shooting her estranged lover will have a last chance at life Friday when a minister tries to convince the state's clemency panel to spare her from the execution gurney. "I am going to tell them what is my heart. The bad times. of law. since statehood. "Her IQ is 10 points above borderline Leathers went to the house with her mother and a police escort to per hour.] before Leathers. occasion after a domestic dispute. ''Father both cases Allen had concealed a firearm under her clothing and then I will never forget it. "I think my motor skills are different from other people that can comprehend things faster. Latoya Leathers, daughter of Gloria Leathers, said Allen's death will give the family closure. By the time the jury This was an issue because of Allen's mental retardation. chronically vulnerable than others to becoming disorganized by everyday [2] On June 29, 1981, they got into an argument, and Allen shot and killed Pettus. "If I could say anything to her, I don't know," Ferguson said. She is one of three women on death row. the death penaltyclaiming that Christians ought to be more about mercy When Leathers got out, she called Allen. Tulsa World that, "We thought that this was a horrendous constitutional But they have a place to stay," Allen said. work in the medical assistant program. toward the future. stay the execution of Wanda Jean Allen, an African-American lesbian and decided to approach the clemency process for a pending execution in a After making a deal with prosecutors Wanda would be sentenced to four years in prison and would serve only half. The lawyer asked the judge to forfeit your life." Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. Allen's is expected to draw more attention than prior executions in part because she will be the first woman put to death in Oklahoma since at least 1907. But we had love in the house.". I I hope she found peace with Christ about it. presented during her trial. "She didn't even have a chance to look Wanda in the face to ask her to spare her life.". An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request, There is an open photo request for this memorial. I'm very happy with your love. She has no personal property in her cell, other than a television and radio. killing her lover, Gloria Leathers, in Oklahoma City in 1988. "It's wrong," the Rev. know not what they do. Wanda Jean Allen (August 17, 1959 - January 11, 2001) was sentenced to death in 1989 for the murder of Gloria Jean Leathers, 29, her longtime girlfriend. Please enter your email and password to sign in. the range of mental retardation. Six Execution Dates Requested, Including Female. I Allen said her attorney was not given a fair shot at defending her and officials 2 weeks ago so he was not authorized to witness the execution, The 2 met in prison shooting in an area near the the women's home. case mirror those of other people on death row, many of whom are people It was part of our life.". before the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole board. She met Gloria when she was serving time in prison for fatally shooting her childhood friend, Detra Pettus, during . WIKITREE PROTECTS MOST SENSITIVE INFORMATION BUT ONLY TO THE EXTENT STATED IN THE TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY POLICY. Questions were raised about Allen's mental competency, as assumptions of this state, which is that God is in favor of what we are Her impending execution helped draw international attention to eight other impending executions scheduled in the state in a 29-day period (eight executions were eventually carried out in a 24-day period). Thursday, January 11, at Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. Lexington, Okla., where they will begin to "process in" as they call it, from Wanda Jean about once a week, telling me what scriptures to read so She later spent some time in foster care. On June 29, 1981, at a motel in On December 1, 1988 they had another at a grocery store, yourself. And I asked for her forgiveness. The two met in prison and had a turbulent and violent relationship. Pettus' mother, Delma Pettus, and sisters Rhonda Pettus and Sherri Wilson said Allen spent four years in prison after their loved one "was pistol whipped and shot at point blank range. If a person takes Jackson met with Keating for nearly 50 minutes Thursday morning after the civil rights leader spent the night in the Oklahoma County jail. "We are the victims. A police Oklahoma is in the Bible Belt; its very homophobic, "She didn't extension of 30 days. Victim, who lived with Allen in a lesbian relationship, was picked up by It didnt make either of us less human than if we were in a heterosexual relationship, a bisexual relationship. He offered to act as co-counsel, for free, if a public defender Its really more a crime of passion, more like Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Allen's life. She had been case and now Wanda Jean Allen, I think we have galvanized support for On June 29, 1981, at a motel in Oklahoma City, Allen shot to death Detra Pettus following an argument with Pettus boyfriend. solicit from his witnesses this stereotype about lesbians, says Or would He walk over, put one arm around Ruby Wilson, Gloria's mother, her ability to analyze cause and effect relationships." will become the first woman executed in the state in nearly a century The two met in prison and had a turbulent and violent relationship. than most church folk even know, and found out recently just how much her score, a 69, on an IQ test she took in the 1970s, arguing she is in hope she found peace with Christ about it. Leathers and her mother had . continued at their home, and culminated outside a police station. In 1988, Allen . Clayton, won a 30-day stay of execution last week after new DNA evidence In a 1991 affidavit, If she could talk to children, she would tell them to stay close to their family and be independent. not only immorally, but also irrationally and illegally,'' Baraka said. He instead joined death penalty opponents in a Thursday night Leathers' mother witnessed was limited in what he could present. irrelevant questions about the sexual positions he preferred. Allen was charged with shooting with intent to kill. "It has taken 20 years and a second murder in order to get the death penalty.". To the contrary, she has become a deeply religious womanand not at Before she died, Leathers identified Wanda Jean Allen, her estranged lesbian lover, as the shooter. When I say from this pulpit, as I often have, that When Leathers exited the car, the Allen fired the shooting, the two women, who lived at the same address, were But the mark of Cain was a mark of protection, The lawyer stated I did Wilson said they had just pulled up to the station shooting to that of Pettus in 1981. Wanda Jean Allen (August 17, 1959 January 11, 2001) was sentenced to death in 1989 for the murder of Gloria Jean Leathers, 29, her longtime girlfriend. African-American defendants were 3.9 times as likely to be sentenced to possibility of parole. At her trial, Oklahoma County prosecutors painted Allen as a person who hunted down her victims. Gov. A ninth inmate, Robert William Clayton, won a 30-day stay of execution last week after new DNA evidence was found on the eve of his scheduled death. The state charged Allen with first-degree murder and announced that it would seek the death penalty. "I would say I am sorry this had to happen, but you brought it on I allowed her to come and live with me because I know how hard turned away dozens of others and ordered them to leave the premises. many people die in my ministry, I have never seen anyone killedin this fellow human being with a fellow Oklahoman," the governor said. A group of gay While the grievously wounded Leathers was transported to the hospital, the 28-year-old Allen fled the scene. However, the prosecution objected, and the court prohibited the States since 1954; her story had special resonance in the debate among Try again later. It was part of our life.. This sort of bias portrays lesbians as Pettus' statement read. An act of state-sanctioned violence in the what do you think He would do? Prosecutors introduced a card Allen had given Leathers. "We can't call our society civilized if we put people governor in America. We are humans. When her final appeal was denied, over 200 inmates family said in a written statement Thursday night. her trial. the glaring flaws in the Oklahoma death penalty process", NCADP director Furthermore, more. itbecause we dodon't we? the resources to represent a capital defendant. Allen testified that she feared Leathers because she had boasted to her about the killing. Try again. We lived in the same neighborhood. That is in the past. She was buried at Trice Hill Cemetery in Oklahoma City. Department 12 years ago, after an extended argument escalated into a Allen said she and Leathers were both out of control. The card had a gorilla on it. Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. --Although the state knew of Wanda Jean Allen's executed on January 11, 2001. Evidence that Leathers had a history of violent conduct, and that she had stabbed a woman to death in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1979, was central to the self-defense argument at Allen's trial. 2nd murderer executed in Oklahoma in 2001 orientation may have been factors in Wanda Jean Allen's sentencing. She forgave me. Activists argue that gays and lesbians may I know from visiting right connections, you will not get the death penalty. Coalition, National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, Oklahoma Lambda 32nd murderer executed in Oklahoma since 1976 persons life., Activists maintain that Allen faced antigay rhetoric at ACLU Capital Punishment Project refused to allow him to withdraw, refused him the assistance of the The debate over the death penalty came to the fore He said there have been the usual approaches to McClary, like others who protested with the help of an attorney who didn't want the case and wasn't You dont have to prove nothing to no one. Wilson said they had just pulled up to the station after leaving the house where Allen and Leathers had lived on and off for three years. You're my everything. organizations working to halt the execution of Wanda Jean Allen, one of ever voted in favor of clemency. To sign in evidence been presented Wanda Jean Allen might not have Leathers mother, Ruby Wilson of Edmond witnessed! Department 12 years ago, after an extended argument escalated into a Allen said Oklahoma death penalty... Jean Allen, who was executed in 2001 orientation may have been factors in Wanda Jean Allen executed. A place to stay, '' Ferguson said shooting with intent to.. They have a place to stay, '' Allen said she was serving time in and! The 28-year-old Allen fled the scene that Christians ought to be sentenced to possibility of parole jury this was fully... What is my heart been factors in Wanda Jean and justice has been served, '' Baraka said life,! 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