Aimee Walker
A death row inmate uttered chilling final words before being executed for murder.
Kimberly McCarthy was executed in Texas by lethal injection in 2013.
The occupational therapist, who was 52 at the time of her death, had been convicted of the murder of her 71-year-old neighbour, retired college professor Dorothy Booth, in 1997.
She was also suspected of the murder of two other elderly women in the US state, however, she was never tried for these crimes.
McCarthy always maintained her innocence and consistently claimed she was framed for the murder.
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Back in 1997, on July 21, the death row inmate allegedly called Booth to say that she would be coming over and borrowing some sugar.
However, prosecutors claimed that she intended to rob the elderly woman.
Prosecutors allege that McCarthy stabbed Booth five times with a butcher knife and beat her with a candelabra before cutting off her finger to steal her diamond wedding ring.
The court was told that McCarthy had stolen Booth’s purse and Mercedes and sold the diamond-encrusted ring to buy drugs.
It’s claimed that she used the elderly woman’s credit cards at a liquor store and at the time of her arrest, she was in possession of Booth’s driving license.
McCarthy’s DNA was allegedly found on the murder weapon – and it took just one day for her to be captured and charged with the murder of Booth.
One year later, McCarthy was convicted by a Dallas court jury and on November 24, 1998, she was sentenced to death.
Throughout her time behind bars, the inmate was given glimmers of hope regarding her case – with there being last-minute legal appeals.
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McCarthy managed to successfully appeal her conviction in 2002 but she was retried and put back on death row.
Her first stay of execution was issued for January 29, 2013, and it was then set for April 3 but was pushed back one more to June 26, as per CBS News.
The inmate’s lawyers fiercely fought against this, arguing that her trial had been tainted by racial discrimination.
At the time of McCarthy’s pending execution, the population of Dallas County was 23 per cent Black and 69 per cent white.
Maurie Levin, her lawyer, claimed that McCarthy’s representation throughout her trial had been inadequate and that the jury had been unfairly chosen.
It’s claimed the prosecution had used peremptory strikes to exclude prospective non-white jurors, resulting in just one non-white juror, as per the Daily Express.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied this and as a result, McCarthy’s execution would go ahead.
On the day of her passing, the inmate shared some surprising final words.
Reflecting on her strong Christian faith, McCarthy stated: “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.”
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