Kimberly McCarthy on Wednesday evening became the 500th prisoner executed in Texas since 1976 , when the death penalty was reinstated in the state , according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice . McCarthy was pronounced dead at 7:37 p.m . ET at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville , Texas , said department spokesman John Hurt . The 52-year-old former occupational therapist was convicted in 1997 of murdering her 71-year-old neighbor , Dorothy Booth , a retired college professor . Booth was found beaten and stabbed to death , and one of her fingers was severed , indicating a ring was forcibly removed , the Department of Criminal Justice said . Evidence later showed McCarthy had pawned the stolen diamond ring the day of the crime . When she was arrested , McCarthy was found with Booth 's credit cards and a large knife stained with her neighbor 's blood , the department said . In her last statement , McCarthy thanked her supporters , including her ex-husband , attorney and spiritual adviser . `` Thank you everybody . This is not a loss , this is a win . You know where I am going . I am going home to be with Jesus . Keep the faith . I love y'all , '' McCarthy said , according to Jason Clark , another department spokesman . Outside the prison , nicknamed the `` Walls Unit , '' a small crowd of demonstrators gathered Wednesday afternoon to protest the execution . They held signs that read , `` Do n't kill for me '' and `` End executions in Texas . '' The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Monday denied McCarthy 's appeal of her sentence and declined on Tuesday to reconsider it , saying her claims should have been raised previously , CNN affiliate KPRC reported . Texas has led the nation in the number of executions since 1976 , but the number of states carrying out capital punishment continues to drop . Last year , Texas executed more people than it sentenced to death for the eighth straight year . Four states -- Texas , Oklahoma , Mississippi and Arizona -- accounted for three quarters of all U.S. executions in 2012 . Opinion : Why do we keep executing people ?
McCarthy 's thanks her supporters in her last statement . McCarthy is pronounced dead at 7:37 p.m . ET , authorities say . Kimberly McCarthy , 52 , was convicted of murdering her 71-year-old neighbor . She had been charged with murder and attempted murder for the death of Ronald Reagan on July 20, 1994.