Death row is a horrifying place to spend the rest of your life. Knowing how and the exact day you will die can be scary enough, but being in a 6’ by 8’ cell for the rest of your life can be terrifying. Woman only make up about 1.8% of the people on death row since 1976. Men and woman may be very different people in many ways but are more than capable of committing the same crime. Women may be viewed as the weaker sex, nurturers and even comforters however, that does not mean that they are not capable of some very serious crimes. Female offenders up for death row or on death row should not be treated any different than men. Woman have been fighting for equality for years now and when it comes to the death penalty, …show more content…
Kelly Gissendaner was the sixteenth woman to be executed in the United States since they reinstated the death penalty in 1976; however one thousand three hundred and ninety nine men have been executed in that time frame. Why is it so rare for a woman to be put to death? Is it because woman are seen as mothers, sisters or even someone men were always told to protect. If a woman can kill another human being just like a man can then why are we protecting them instead of putting them to death like we would a man. I think that when people think of the death penalty they think of very evil men, not woman and yet there are very evil woman out there that have gotten the death penalty.
Should gender be an issue in the death sentencing? NO. I believe it should not be. Murder is murder no matter the sex of the murderer or victim. Woman want equal rights in the world, but yet they are not getting equal sentencing for murder. Why should woman get different treatment for murder then men? Some studies have shown the gender bias continues to exist but with the number of woman on death row being so low it is hard to say for sure or not. According to the Death penalty information center Victor L. Streib says “Woman