*Update as of 5:15 PM on September 17, 2014* The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of Lisa Coleman, allowing her execution to proceed. Read more from the Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/09/17/texas-prepares-for-a-rare-occurrence-an-execution-of-a-woman/.
The State of Texas is scheduled to execute Lisa Ann Coleman on Wednesday, September 17, 2014. Coleman was convicted a decade ago in Tarrant County in the starvation death of 9-year-old Davontae Williams. The boy’s mother, Marcella Williams, took a plea deal to avoid the death penalty and is serving a life sentence. She will be eligible for parole in 2044.
According to the Associated Press, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Coleman’s appeal earlier today. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles also declined to commute her death sentence. Attorneys contend that the kidnapping charge, which served as the aggravating factor that paved the way for prosecutors to charge Coleman with capital murder, should be reviewed by the courts.
If this execution proceeds, Coleman will be the sixth woman put to death in Texas since 1982. It will be the ninth execution to date this year in the Lone Star State.
Read more about Coleman’s case, including interviews with her aunt and original defense attorney, in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/09/15/6122414/arlington-womans-execution-set.html
and from NBC 5 Dallas- Fort Worth:http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Court-Declines-to-Stop-Womans-Execution-275313871.html