Jeannace June Freeman (1941/42 - 2003) was the first woman ever

sentenced to death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, and remained the only woman sentenced to death in Oregon until 2011. Her conviction was upheld by the

Oregon Supreme Court The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States.Crooked River Gorge Crooked River Gorge is a gorge located around Warm Springs and Smith Rock State Park, Central Oregon Central Oregon is a geographic region in the U.S. state of Oregon and is traditionally considered to be made up of Deschutes, Jefferson, ...

, at

Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint The Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint is a state park on the Crooked River in Oregon, United States. It is on the border of Deschutes and Jefferson counties. History The facility is named in honor of Peter Skene Ogden who first entered ...

. The pair fled to California, where they were arrested a few weeks after the children's bodies were discovered and identified. Jackson was sentenced to life in prison, while Freeman was sentenced to death. When Oregon voters abolished capital punishment in 1964, Gov.

Mark Hatfield Mark Odom Hatfield (July 12, 1922 – August 7, 2011) was an American politician and educator from the state of Oregon. A Republican, he served for 30 years as a United States senator from Oregon, and also as chairman of the Senate Appropr ...

commuted Freeman's sentence to life imprisonment. She served 20 years, while Jackson served seven. Freeman changed her name to Wilma Lin Rhule, and was later sent back to prison for assault. Freeman died in 2003.

References

1940 births 2003 deaths American female murderers American people convicted of murder American murderers of children Prisoners sentenced to death by Oregon Women sentenced to death Year of birth uncertain {{Oregon-bio-stub People convicted of murder by Oregon