A killer who spent years on death row claimed it was "a win" as she was put to death - after years protesting her innocence. Kimberly McCarthy made the claim as she was killed by lethal injection as punishment for the death of her neighbour, Dorothy Booth.
The devout Christian said: "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. Thank you, chaplain."
The occupational therapist, who was 52 at the time of her 2013 execution, insisted she was not responsible for the death of the retired college professor, 71, The Mirror reports.
She was convicted of the 1997 murder but consistently claimed she had been framed. She successfully appealed her conviction in 2002 but was retried and placed back on death row later that year after being convicted for a second time.
McCarthy, who was also suspected but never tried of being behind two other murders of elderly Texas women, made dubious history on June 26, 2013, becoming the 500th person to be executed in her state when she was given a lethal injection.
Her execution drew protests outside the prison in central Huntsville where she was executed - as some chanted “murderers” and one 68-year-old protestor held a sign saying: “Execute justice not people”.
It wasn’t a specific protest in favour of McCarthy’s innocence, but a protest against the death penalty - which studies show disproportionately affects black people and others from ethnic minorities.
On July 21, 1997, McCarthy allegedly phoned Booth to say she was heading over to borrow some sugar - although prosecutors say her real intent was to commit robbery.
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After arriving, McCarthy stabbed Booth five times with a butcher knife and used a candelabra to bear the pensioner - before cutting off her finger to steal her diamond-encrusted wedding ring.
McCarthy stole Booth’s purse, her Mercedes, and sold the diamond in order to buy crack-cocaine. She used Booth’s credit cards at a liquor store and had possession of Booth’s driving licence card at the time of her arrest.
Her DNA was also found on the murder weapon. It took only a day for Booth to be caught and charged with murder. She was convicted the next year by a Dallas County jury before being sentenced to death on November 24, 1998.
But she was twice given glimmers of hope as her execution was stayed by last minute legal appeals. The first stay of execution was issued on January 29, 2013, only hours before she was set to be put to death.
It was then set for April 3 - before being pushed back again to June 26. McCarthy’s lawyers battled fiercely on the grounds that her trial had been marred by racial discrimination.
Her lawyer, Maurie Levin, said in a last ditch appeal in late June that McCarthy’s representation at trial had been inadequate and that the jury’s composition was unfair. He said the prosecution had used peremptory strikes to block prospective non-white jurors.
That resulted in a jury with only one non-white member. But the Texas court of criminals did not hear the appeal and it was confirmed that McCarthy’s execution was set to go ahead - which is when she summoned her surprising final words.
McCarthy was the eighth person executed in Texas that year, after executing 15 in 2012. Since resuming capital punishment in 1982, Texas has executed more people than the next six most prolific states combined.
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