that time, it is too late.". counsel for Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund. are a part of the reason crimes are repeated," the Pettus' statement
and capable of committing murder. "You guys feel sorry about Wanda Jean, but your concern should be with the families," Katina Wilson, a niece of Leathers, told reporters. ", At the time of Leathers' murder, Allen was on
place on 15 December. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. The wound to Allen?s face from the rake was still visible
"I wanted to tell her how sorry I was for taking her daughter's
Frank Keating refused Allen's late request for a 30-day stay, and last-minute
Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. retardation) was never introduced at the trialand so, for $800, and
in self-defense but no witness confirmed any attack by Leathers. was limited in what he could present. Try again later. victims, not Wanda Jean," said Leathers' daughter, LaToya Leathers. Keating denied a stay of execution. She forgave me. "I couldn't tell you what was happening as far as mentally," Allen said from behind the glass that separates visitors from inmates at the Mabel Bassett Correctional Center in Oklahoma City. completely new way. 4040 North Lincoln
", Wilson on Oct. 13 met with Allen, who asked for
Jesse Jackson, were arrested outside Mabel Bassett Correctional Center January 10, 2001, about an hour after Jean was transferred to the state penitentiary to await her execution. including people who are now on death row in Texas and Missouri.". and opponents gathered in clusters, talking in low voices and shivering
You dont have to prove nothing to no one. tough love). Allen v. State, 1994 OK CR 13, 871 P.2d 79, List of people executed in the United States in 2001, List of women executed in the United States since 1976, Who was Wanda Jean? the trial. ultimately in a state juvenile facility as an adolescent. Carpenter never had any psychological tests performed on Allen, so the
She described Leathers as funny and witty. Floyd Allen Medlock, Canadian County; Phillip Dewitt Smith, Muskogee
The Court
factors in her case merit the relief that is sought. I am not a vengeful-type person. But they said Allen dropped out of high school at 16 and never finished course work in the medical assistant program. governor George H. Ryan of Ill., called for a moratorium on the death
"We didn't have a lot of financial support or materialistic things. I couldnt tell you what was happening as far as mentally, Allen said from behind the glass that separates visitors from inmates at the Mabel Bassett Correctional Center in Oklahoma City. If that's
criminalize lesbians and portray them as man-hating, overly aggressive,
identified Allen as the shooter before she died. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. Monday, January 24, 2022 at the Fort Phantom. Tulsa stabbing, the prosecutor told the jury. We prayed together. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to review a unanimous decision by
[4] Leathers and her mother left and drove to file a complaint against Allen. There appears to be a disproportionate number
Harlow noted that the troubling aspects of Allens
did not just fail Wanda Jean Allen-it failed the whole state. Even one of the
This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. "They
death as white defendants. Wanda Jean Allen said she and Leathers were both out of control. States since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976 -
December 1988. I
But he said he knew her and that was not the case. left temple. Thank you.. stay and had the state Pardon and Parole Board re-examine the issues. She recently met with the mother
about her mental condition (she has an IQ of 69, which borders on mental
"We had love," Allen said. in United States Since 1954. ", Robert Ferguson Jr., Leathers'
Wanda Jean Allen was sentenced to death in Oklahoma in 1989 for killing her girlfriend, Gloria Leathers, following a domestic dispute. "It has taken 20 years and a second murder in
WIKITREE PROTECTS MOST SENSITIVE INFORMATION BUT ONLY TO THE EXTENT STATED IN THE TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY POLICY. Calvin Burdine, a gay man whose lawyer slept through much of his murder
Had that evidence been presented Wanda Jean Allen might not have
That alone makes us believe she could do this again as she
The debate over the death penalty came to the fore
and Gay Rights Project. Its a legal tactic for some prosecutors to exploit
black. We cry. If a person takes another's life premeditated, they take their own.". But Allen dropped out of high school. "It was the wrong type of lifestyle," she said of the lesbian relationship. A lot of people dont realize that. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. She then shot Leathers who died 3 days later. That is not the perception I want anyone to have about the three of us that are up here on death row at Mabel Bassett correctional facility, Allen said. a solo practitioner, agreed to represent her because he thought it would
the first woman to be executed by the state since 1903. short prison stays are a part of the reason crimes are repeated," the
exiting the car when Allen, who had followed them, walked up with her
She joined a murderer's row of
''I highly resent his being here and teaching Oklahomans
The last African American woman put to death in the
Allen became the 6th woman executed in the United
"We're the victims, not Wanda Jean and justice has been served," Latoya Leathers said after the execution. Keating postpones
Walter Little, pastor of the Redeemer Lutheran Church in Oklahoma City. Her
We had mutual friends. Twenty-nine protesters, including the Rev. Wanda Jean Allen, 41, is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Jan. 11, 2001, for the murder of 29-year-old Gloria Jean Leathers. And our motto will be:
tear appeared in the corner of her eye before she received a lethal dose
result from personal and societal biases, all too frequently not left
According to Ohio Northern University law professor Victor Streib,
"If I could say anything to her, I don't know," Ferguson
can get past this, too? She didnt have a place to stay, Allen said. A chaplain read aloud from the Bible while Allen smiled at her attorneys
By all accounts, theirs was a tumultuous relationship. of people, and if you have the right defense, the right skin color, the
everybody came? most important question anyone of us who claims the Christian faith can
1st female murderer executed in Oklahoma since 1976. One 1997 study, titled Gay Men, Lesbians, and the
"It has taken 20 years and a second murder in order to get the death penalty.". That is in the past. Leathers
Especially now, after the Matthew Shepard
doing something to fight against these terrible injustices., Lambda Urges Stay of Execution for African-American
hands underneath a sweatshirt. Allen was the first black woman to be executed in the United States since 1954. "We can't call our society civilized if we put people
Oklahoma on 11 January 2001. On Oct. 13, Ruby Wilson met with her daughters killer. Clayton, won a 30-day stay of execution last week after new DNA evidence
(present tensethis is the new way, the New Covenant), if a man
Her impending execution helped draw international attention to eight other impending executions scheduled in the state in a 29-day period (eight executions were eventually carried out in a 24-day period). I always suspected that Wanda's renunciation of lesbianism had more to do with helping to revamp herself in the most palatable way for her clemency and appeal processes. [6] Leathers' mother witnessed the shooting. prisoners have been put to death, including five women: Velma Barfield (North
the people in power don't have the message yet. either. To the contrary, she has become a deeply religious womanand not at
Share this memorial using social media sites or email. ''Any state that exercises this
Wanda Jean Allen(August 17, 1959 - January 11, 2001) was sentenced to death in 1989 for the murderof Gloria Jean Leathers, 29, her longtime girlfriend. appointed as lead counsel. The lawyer stated, "I did not search for any medical or psychological records or seek expert assistance for use at the trial.". Ajamu Baraka, acting director of Amnesty
In her first interview in 12 years, Wanda Jean Allen talked about her childhood, family, who she is and who she is not. deemed it soGod gives all life, and calls it good, and asks that we
Allen
per hour.] A life of crime aint where it is at, she said. All of them signed a letter asking that she not be
People are coming here from all over the country. examined her had recommended a neurological assessment because she
cemeteries found in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, USA will be saved to your photo volunteer list. you didn't have to ask for it. Lambda was joined in its opposition to
About 4 p.m. Thursday, in a decision Allen's attorneys immediately appealed to the high court, the 10th U.S. penalty as a harsh and irreversible use of government power. Lambda is
Wanda Allen was the first woman to be executed by the state since 1903, as well was executed by lethal injection by the State of Oklahoma on Thursday, January 11, 2001 at Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. What I will be trying to do at the state penitentiary
death in Oklahoma since the state resumed capital punishment in 1990;
Evidence that Leathers had a history of violent
Fund. she means to the rest of the prison population there. Sorry for the absence. The card had a gorilla on it. row inmates following a denial of their final appeals earlier Monday by
The last execution of a black woman came in 1954, when Ohio electrocuted
Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. linked to an adolescent head injury. After making a deal with prosecutors Wanda would be sentenced to four years in prison and would serve only half. light that the judge who presided over Gregory Scott Dickens trial and
executed in the U.S. since the reinstatement of the death penalty in
On December 2, 1988, Leathers, 29, was shot in front of The Village Police Department in Oklahoma City. that it is easier to kill someone we love, especially when we are about
Today's story is on Wanda Jean Allen who was c. raises tough questions about the death penalty, On the evening of January 11, Wanda Jean Allen was
case than I am any other case that we handle.". are the victims and justice has been served. And if life is really precious (and I
", Mary Ann Leathers, 39, who lives in Tulsa and is a day-care
He offered to act as co-counsel for free if a public defender was
Allen had previously received a four-year
know the life of the unborn is precious?" and chips! Barbara Hoberock, World Capitol Bureau reporter, can be reached at (405) 528-2465 or via e-mail at barbara.hoberock@tulsaworld.com . We are still human. In a 1991 affidavit, Bob Carpenter stated
Thursday, January 11, at Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. than about vengeance. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. who is doing what good she candespite the fact she is in lock-down 23
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14301888/wanda-jean-allen. We feel what they are going through. McALESTER - Just hours after Gov. We cry. The most recent woman to die was Christina Marie
Found particularly significant was that the left hemisphere of her brain was dysfunctional, impairing her comprehension, her ability to logically express herself, and her ability to analyze cause and effect relationships. "It won't help me. One dead brother
however, said she was a fully functioning adult who held a job, managed
Jesse Jackson, who was arrested along with two dozen
7,729 since 1900. comes to the death penaltythe God whom, it was assumed, had authorized
Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. persons life., Activists maintain that Allen faced antigay rhetoric at
shot her. Our country is almost alone among
Moments later she was dead from a lethal injection. Coalition, National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, Oklahoma Lambda
We had mutual friends. A lot of people think a death row inmate is an uncaring monster, Allen said. gays and lesbians about the death penalty because Allen was lesbian. In 1979, Leathers was arrested in Tulsa for the stabbing death of Sheila Marie Barker, whom she killed outside a Tulsa disco. interests in reading, art and jazz, who likes to play tennis, golf and
), If Wanda had been dating a man, would she be on
It has recently come to
The
"I care very deeply for the victims of crime. Jenn is a lawyer-turned-author and true crime writer. States during the modern era. What gives us the right? "It won't
The execution was the second of eight planned in
1954, when Ohio electrocuted Betty Jean Butler. fellow human being," said Keating, an ardent death penalty supporter. Pettus. pistol whipped and shot at point-blank range." Oklahoma is in the Bible Belt; its very homophobic,
Summary One in this series of documentaries presented by HBO. Tulsa World that, "We thought that this was a horrendous constitutional
Learn more about merges. life in ways I would never have expected, and put me at the center of
said Allen dropped out of high school at 16 and never finished course
received a high school diploma and completed 2 years of college. "By me being locked up, I understood that
Wanda Jean Allen Becomes First Black Woman Executed
I don't know if people even understand how remarkable
[5] Subsequently, Allen returned to her car, grabbed a gun, and then, when she saw Leathers closely approaching, fired one shot that severely wounded Leathers. whether the death penalty is the appropriate punishment in this case. Burdine was convicted of stabbing his lover
When Cain kills his brother Abel, in the Bible's very
Before making his decision, Keating met with the Rev Jesse Jackson and
When I say from this pulpit, as I often have, that
put there by God so Cain "would not also be killed." In her 1981 confession, Allen stated that she accidentally shot Pettus from roughly 30 feet away while returning fire from Pettus' boyfriend. reports filed. Keating said his only question was whether the parole board, which voted 3-1 to deny clemency, had sufficient information to make its decision. At the age of 15, her IQ tested at 69, which was within the upper limit of mental retardation. They know not what they do." and confessed to the crime. "Wanda Jean Allen is not
investigator to help him prepare for the trial. If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? jailhouse. I have asked you to
led into the death chamber at the Oklahoma state penitentiary. human life, and the Pope himself, while an admirable man, is simply
Allens fate has
For example, noting that Allen had cried throughout
She was
advanced nations continuing the practice. We lived in the same neighborhood. Victim, who lived with Allen in a lesbian relationship, was picked up by
Appeals were heard in the case on January 22. Died January 11, 2001 in Oklahoma State Penitentiary, McAlester, Oklahoma, USA (execution by lethal injection) Mini Bio (1) Wanda Jean Allen was serving a four-year prison sentence for killing her roommate when she met Gloria Leathers, who was serving time for manslaughter. Summary:
a regular listener to the weekly Mayflower Congregational UCC radio
case. And I let her know I loved her for coming that day.. course, it can't make any mistakes before it's born)and so either all
penalty. if they gave a war and nobody came? conduct, and that she had stabbed a woman to death in Tulsa in 1979, was
with lethal drugs tonight. Prosecutors introduced a card Allen had given Leathers. Dig. "She didn't
decided to approach the clemency process for a pending execution in a
Sometimes you didn't have to ask for it.". have the option to commute sentences to life in prison without the
"It didn't make either of us less human than
I am not a vengeful-type person. "Second of all, she did it in front of my mother in front
presented during her trial. seek the death penalty, and because he had never tried a capital case
No, 70
Abilene - Wanda J. Allen, 81, of Abilene died Friday, January 21, 2022 in an Abilene hospice center. My family has been doing this time with me. She was placed in foster care and
have no use for killers, but I have a deep and abiding faith in the rule
Pettus' mother, Delma Pettus, and sisters Rhonda Pettus and Sherri Wilson said Allen spent four years in prison after their loved one "was pistol whipped and shot at point blank range. She was sentenced to death in
"2 families were victimized by Wanda Jean Allen,"
coffee house, The Red Cup, and when we pulled up our chairs, stirred in
Allen followed Leathers and shot her. When Allen spoke
The
And Mr. Presson said that he and
If she is not granted clemency [this
The state
(renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). Seven years after the death of Dedra Pettus, Allen was living with her girlfriend Gloria Jean Leathers. She served two years for