Guide Note:
Wanda Jean Allen was the first black woman to receive the death penalty since 1954. She received the sentence for the murder of Gloria Jean Leathers, 29, in the state of Oklahoma. Allen's plea for clemency was refused by the Governor Frank Keating in 2001. Allen was executed on January 11, 2001 via lethal injection.
Fast Facts:
- Born: August 17, 1959
- Died: January 11, 2001
- In 1981, Allen was convicted of killing Dedra Pettus
- In 1988, she was condemned and sentenced to death row for the murder of Gloria Jean Leather1
- Spent 12 years on death row
- Became a born-again Christian in prison
- Plea for clemency was declined by, then, Gov. Frank Keating
- Executed at age 41, via lethal injection
- HBO film The Execution of Wanda Jean was a documentary film based on Jean's final three months
- 44 women were executed in the United States since 19001
- Allen's attorneys argued that she was borderline mentally retarded1
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