Wanda Jean Allen
Oklahoma executes disabled Black lesbian
By Elijah
Crane
On Jan. 11, the state of Oklahoma executed Wanda Jean Allen,
an African American lesbian who was brain damaged.
Allen was the first African American woman executed in the
United States since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
She was the first woman put to death by the state of Oklahoma
since 1903.
These facts, combined with the questions regarding the
extent of her brain disability, drew widespread international
attention to the case.
Oklahoma executed 11 people last year, ranking second
highest in the United States. The first is still Texas, where
Gov. George W. Bush oversaw the execution of more than 150
people--more than all other states combined. Forty people were
put to death in Texas in 2000.
In January 2001, Oklahoma broke its own record with seven
executions carried out in a single month. The previous record
was four in 1933.
The case of Wanda Jean Allen
Accused of killing Gloria Leathers, her lover of two years,
Allen was sentenced to death in 1988. After an argument that
broke out between the two women in a grocery store parking lot,
Leathers called the police to accompany her and her mother back
to the couple's apartment in order to collect her
belongings.
The cops left the apartment before Leathers. According to
Allen, Leathers beat her with a rake at that time. Pictures of
Allen taken after the events supported that claim.
However, evidence of the attack was withheld from Allen's
trial. The cops claimed they saw the rake in the apartment and
foresaw a possibility of it being used in a physical
confrontation between the two women. They said they removed it
from the apartment before they left. So all evidence and
references to the attack were barred.
Allen was charged with capital murder. That is out of the
ordinary in a domestic abuse case. But she had all the cards
stacked against her, living in a racist, bigoted society and
being African American, lesbian, poor and disabled.
Allen's IQ was officially 69. During the trial prosecutorial
misinformation--including claims that Allen graduated from high
school--conflicted with reports that she was cognitively
impaired. As happens in many death-penalty cases, Allen's
lawyer did not provide adequate representation.
Her only hope to reverse the sentence was that the Oklahoma
State Pardons and Paroles Board would act favorably on a
request to recommend that Gov. Frank Keating grant
clemency.
National lesbian, gay, bi and trans groups and grassroots
activists organized a call-in campaign to Keating's office
demanding clemency for Allen.
When the board met to take up her case on Dec. 13, activists
and death-penalty foes packed the room. But the decision was
3-1 against Allen. The board would not recommend that her
sentence be reversed.
Keating would not take action either. At the time, he was
being considered for a position in the cabinet of his
colleague, "Gov. Death"-turned-President-Elect-Death George W.
Bush.
Jesse Jackson arrested
The Rev. Jesse Jackson traveled to Oklahoma twice to call
for a stay of execution.
On Jan. 10, police arrested Jackson with 27 other
death-penalty opponents taking part in a civil-disobedience
action in front of McAlester State Prison. After spending the
night in jail, Jackson met with Keating on Jan. 11, urging him
to grant a 30-day stay based on Allen's brain disability.
A federal court in Denver had already denied the appeal by
Allen's lawyers. Keating firmly turned down Jackson. The
governor inaccurately cited Allen's ability to complete school
as proof that she was not cognitively impaired.
Allen's lawyers then took their last appeal to the Supreme
Court. Once again, they were denied.
Wanda Jean Allen was killed at 9 p.m. on Jan. 11.
Lesbian, gay, bi, trans and anti-death-penalty activists are
outraged at this flagrant injustice. They will come together at
the Jan. 20 demonstration at Bush's inauguration in Washington
to raise the case of Wanda Jean Allen and to demand an end to
the racist, anti-lesbian/gay/bi/trans, anti-poor death penalty
once and for all.
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email: ww@workers.org
Subscribe wwnews-subscribe@workersworld.net
Support independent news http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php)
HOME
:: U.S. NEWS ::
WORLD NEWS ::
EDITORIALS ::
SUBSCRIBE ::
DONATE
Email
this article
Printable
page