Title: Women and the Death Penalty
Headings: Why The Death Penalty In America Is Sexist
Why The Death Penalty In America Is Sexist
Christina Sterbenz
Convicted murderer Jodi Arias

Content: Women committed less than 10% of all murders in America between 2000 and 2010, a Wall Street Journal analysis of crime data found. However, women defendants only make up 2% of death row, according to a recent report by the NAACP. Even fewer women actually get executed, Death Penalty Information Center executive director Richard Dieter told Business Insider. "There's just less enforcement of the death penalty at almost every stage for females," he said. Two major factors contribute to the low number of women who get capital punishment: the nature of the crime and how juries view women in general. The death penalty is often used for killers who also commit other felonies like robbery or rape, law professor Victor Streib has previously told the LA Times. Many of the murders women commit, on the other hand, involve people they're related to. While women commit about 10% of murders, they were responsible for 35% of murders of intimate partners between 1980 and 2008. Most juries consider these crimes of passion arising from disputes — one-time offenses, Dieter said.