Woman to Be Executed in Virginia

(WASHINGTON) -- When Teresa Lewis is put to death Thursday she will leave behind a trail of statistics.

- She will be the first woman executed in Virginia in nearly a century.
- Her death will leave 60 women on death row nationally, constituting less than 2% of the total death row population.
- She will be among about 40 women who have been executed in the United States over the past 100 years.

The statistics are according to the Death Penalty Information Center, a group which opposes the death penalty and tracks its impact.

A judge determined that Lewis was the “mastermind” of a grisly plan to hire two hit men to kill her husband and stepson in 2002. Teresa Lewis pleaded guilty for her role in the crime and repeatedly expressed regret. But while the triggermen received sentences of life in prison, Lewis was sentenced to die.

The Supreme Court refused to hear her appeal earlier this week, and Gov. Bob McDonnell denied her petitions for clemency.

Those opposed to her death sentence say the fact that she is a woman should not cause her to be treated differently. But they say what is unfair is that she has been diagnosed as borderline mentally retarded and her sentence is more severe than that of the triggermen.

Teresa Lewis will become the 12th woman put to death in the United States since 1976.

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Virginia to Execute First Woman in Nearly a Century

(NEW YORK) -- Virginia is set to execute a woman convicted in a plot to kill her husband and stepson.  The United States Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for the execution of Teresa Lewis, who suffers from borderline Mental Retardation.  The high court refused to hear Lewis' final appeal and the execution is scheduled Thursday.

The case has drawn international attention, including remarks from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, who compared it to the case of an Iranian woman convicted of adultery.  He said the western press covered that case heavily but said "Nobody objects to an American woman who is to be executed."

Court records show Lewis participated in a plot involving two hitmen who killed her husband and stepson to get their hands on an insurance payout.  Lewis stood in another room while the hitmen shot the two at close range. 

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