Kimberly LaGayle McCarthy (May 11, 1961 – June 26, 2013) was a

death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting Capital punishment, execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of ...

inmate and suspected

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

who was convicted and

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 ...

for the 1997 murder of her neighbor, 71-year-old retired college professor Dorothy Booth, in her

Lancaster, Texas Lancaster ( ) is a city in Dallas County, Texas, United States. Its population was 41,275 according to the 2020 census. Founded in 1852 as a frontier post, Lancaster is one of Dallas County's earliest settlements. Today, it is a suburban communit ...

( Dallas–Fort Worth area) home during a robbery. She was a suspect in 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 Innocence is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence is to the lack of legal guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime. In other contexts, it is a lack of experience. In relation ...

, 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 Greenville is a city in Hunt County, Texas, United States, about northeast of Dallas. It is the county seat and largest city of Hunt County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 25,557, and in 2019, its estimated population was 28,827. ...

. She worked as an

occupational therapist Occupational therapists (OTs) are health care professionals specializing in occupational therapy and occupational science. OTs and occupational therapy assistants (OTAs) use scientific bases and a holistic perspective to promote a person's abilit ...

in a

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to in ...

. She was briefly married to Aaron Michaels, with whom she had one son. During her adult life, she developed an addiction to

crack cocaine Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be smoked. Crack offers a short, intense high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment'' calls ...

. In 1990, she was

convicted In law, a conviction is the verdict reached by a court of law finding a defendant guilty of a crime. The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal (that is, "not guilty"). In Scotland, there can also be a verdict of "not proven", which is consid ...

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 Dallas College El Centro Campus (El Centro or ECC) is a public community college in Dallas, Texas. It is part of Dallas College. The campus is located at 801 Main Street in downtown Dallas, in the former Sanger Harris department store buildi ...

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

professor Dorothy Booth (May 14, 1926 – July 21, 1997), saying that she was on her way over to borrow some sugar. Prosecutors later alleged that McCarthy's true intent was to rob Booth. After McCarthy arrived at Booth's home, she stabbed Booth five times with a

butcher knife A butcher knife or butcher's knife is a knife designed and used primarily for the butchering or dressing of animal carcasses. Use Today, the butcher knife is used throughout the world in the meat processing trade. The heftier blade works well f ...

, beat her with a

candelabrum A candelabra (plural candelabras) or candelabrum (plural candelabra or candelabrums) is a candle holder with multiple arms. Although electricity has relegated candleholders to decorative use, interior designers continue to model light fixtures ...

, and cut off her finger to steal her diamond wedding ring. McCarthy then stole Booth's purse and

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...

and pawned the diamond ring in order to buy crack cocaine. The day after Booth's murder, McCarthy was charged with murder. Evidence showed that McCarthy used Booth's credit cards at a

liquor store A liquor store is a retail shop that predominantly sells prepackaged liquors – typically in bottles – usually intended to be consumed off the store's premises. Depending on region and local idiom, they may also be called an off-licence (i ...

and was in possession of Booth's

driver's license A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public ...

. Booth's DNA was also found on the murder weapon, which police recovered from McCarthy's home. In 1998, McCarthy was convicted by a

Dallas County, Texas Dallas County is the second-most populous county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 2,613,539, making it the ninth-most populous county in the country. Dallas County is included in the Dallas-Arlington-F ...

jury of murdering Booth. During the sentencing hearing, prosecutors presented blood DNA evidence alleging that McCarthy also murdered two other elderly women in

Dallas County Dallas County may refer to: Places in the USA: * Dallas County, Alabama, founded in 1818, the first county in the United States by that name * Dallas County, Arkansas * Dallas County, Iowa * Dallas County, Missouri * Dallas County, Texas, the nin ...

in December 1988, 81-year-old Maggie Harding and 85-year-old Jettie Lucas, in order to purchase

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

. McCarthy was never charged with those murders. On November 24, 1998, McCarthy was sentenced to die by

lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution) for the express purpose of causing rapid death. The main application for this procedure is capital puni ...

for killing Booth. McCarthy successfully appealed her conviction in 2002, but was later re-tried and re-sentenced to death on November 1, 2002.

Execution dates

McCarthy's final federal appeal was denied in July 2012. Her attorneys filed a petition for a

writ of certiorari In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of an English prerogative writ, issued by a superior court to direct that the record of ...

to the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

, and it was denied in January 2013. Her execution date was initially set for January 29, 2013. Only hours before her

was scheduled to occur, she was granted a

stay of execution A stay of execution is a court order to temporarily suspend the execution of a court judgment or other court order. The word "execution" does not always mean the death penalty. It refers to the imposition of whatever judgment is being stayed and i ...

. Her execution was next set for April 3, 2013. In late March, the

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

announced that the date had been moved to June 26, 2013.

Death

McCarthy was executed by lethal injection at the

Huntsville Unit Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville or Huntsville Unit (HV), nicknamed "Walls Unit", is a Texas state prison located in Huntsville, Texas, United States. The approximately facility, near downtown Huntsville, is operated by the Correctional Ins ...

Huntsville, Texas Huntsville is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Texas. The population was 45,941 as of the 2020 census. It is the center of the Huntsville micropolitan area. Huntsville is in the East Texas Piney Woods on Interstate 45 and home to ...

, on June 26, 2013. Her execution marked the 500th convicted killer to be executed by lethal injection in Texas (which averages one execution about every four weeks) since the death penalty resumed in the United States in 1976. 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 Pentobarbital (previously known as pentobarbitone in Britain and Australia) is a short-acting barbiturate typically used as a sedative, a preanesthetic, and to control convulsions in emergencies. It can also be used for short-term treatment of ...

. 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 The Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery is the main prison cemetery of the U.S. state of Texas, located in Huntsville and operated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). The colloquial name for the cemetery is Peckerwood Hill. The name originat ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Kimberly 1961 births 2013 deaths 1997 murders in the United States 20th-century African-American women 20th-century American criminals 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 21st-century executions by Texas 21st-century executions of American people American female murderers American people executed for murder Executed African-American people Executed American women Executed people from Texas People convicted of murder by Texas People executed by Texas by lethal injection People from Greenville, Texas Suspected serial killers Violence against women in the United States

Early life

Crime

Execution dates

Death

See also

References