Wretched Sisters (Studies in Crime and Punishment)

Since the United States reinstated the death penalty in 1976, eleven women have been put to death for murder. Each case involves a personal story with unique tragic elements. Yet common themes reflect how the criminal justice system defines crimes committed by women in a particular gendered context. Wretched Sisters offers an analysis of the legal and popular cultural circumstances that determine why a small number of women are sentenced to death, and provides an empathetic account of how these eleven came to be subjected to the ultimate punishment.