Kimberly McCarthy

Kimberly LaGayle McCarthy (May 11, 1961 – June 26, 2013) was an American death row inmate who was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1997 murder of her neighbor, 71-year-old retired college professor Dorothy Booth, in her Lancaster, Texas (Dallas–Fort Worth area) home during a robbery. Blood DNA evidence linked her to the murders of two other elderly Texas women, for which she was never tried.

After her final federal appeal was denied in July 2012, McCarthy's execution date was set for January 29, 2013. Two reprieves pushed her execution date to June 26, 2013. McCarthy continued to proclaim her innocence, saying she was framed for the murder.

On June 26, 2013, McCarthy was executed by the state of Texas by lethal injection, becoming the 500th person to be executed by the state of Texas by that method.

Early life McCarthy was born on May 11, 1961, in Greenville, Texas. She worked as an occupational therapist in a nursing home. She was briefly married to Aaron Michaels, with whom she had one son. During her adult life, she developed an addiction to crack cocaine. In 1990, she was convicted of forgery, and also had convictions for prostitution and theft of services.

Crime On July 21, 1997, McCarthy reportedly called her neighbor, former El Centro College psychology professor Dorothy Booth (May 14, 1926 – July 21, 1997), saying that she was on her way over to borrow some sugar.

Execution dates

McCarthy's final federal appeal was denied in July 2012. Her attorneys filed a petition for a writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, and it was denied in January 2013. Her execution date was initially set for January 29, 2013. Only hours before her lethal injection was scheduled to occur, she was granted a stay of execution. Her execution was next set for April 3, 2013. In late March, the Dallas County district attorney announced that the date had been moved to June 26, 2013.

Death

McCarthy was executed by lethal injection at the Huntsville Unit in Huntsville, Texas, on June 26, 2013. She was the first woman executed in the United States in almost three years.

She was pronounced dead at 6:37 p.m. CDT, 20 minutes after Texas prison officials began administering a single lethal dose of pentobarbital. Her last words were: "This is not a loss. This is a win. You know where I'm going. I'm going home to be with Jesus. Keep the faith. I love you all."

She is buried at Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery.