There are currently 45 women in the United States that are on death row after they were found guilty of heinous acts, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. While some of the women have made headlines for their crimes and have been catapulted into the spotlight, others’ stories have not garnered the same attention.

In the United States, only 14 states allow the death sentence.

The youngest woman on death row in the state of Texas is Taylor Parker, whose crime was documented in Netflix’s June 2026 documentary Maternal Instinct. Us Weekly breaks down all of the women sentenced to death, below.

Taylor Parker

Parker was sentenced to death after she killed expectant mother Reagan Simmons-Hancock in October 2020. Following the killing, Parker – who was pretending to be pregnant at the time – cut Simmons-Hancock’s unborn daughter out of her body and claimed to police that she had just given birth to the baby. After doctors confirmed that Parker had not given birth to the child, she was arrested in connection to Simmons-Hancock and her child’s death and was sentenced to death in October 2022.

She is currently on death row at Patrick L. O’Daniel Unit in Gatesville, Texas, and is awaiting an execution date.

Christa Gail Pike

Christa Gail Pike is currently on death row in Tennessee after she was convicted of murdering former classmate 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in 1995. After Pike grew to believe that Slemmer was trying to steal her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, she and Shipp lured the victim into the woods and fatally beat her.

Shipp was convicted of murder and conspiracy and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. He did not receive the death sentence because he was 17 years old at the time of the killing. He remains in prison after he was denied parole in October 2025.

Meanwhile, Pike remains on death row at Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center in Nashville, Tennessee, and is scheduled to be executed on September 30, 2026.

Brenda Andrew

Brenda Andrew was sentenced to death by Oklahoma County District Judge Susan Bragg after she was convicted in the 2001 death of her estranged husband, Rob Andrew. Following the killing, Andrew staged the crime scene to make it look like Bragg was attacked by masked intruders.

Brenda orchestrated the killing with her lover, James Pavatt, who shot Rob multiple times. The pair came up with the plot amid divorce proceedings and an $800,000 life insurance policy.

Pavatt was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. He was given the death penalty and an additional 10 years in prison for the conspiracy conviction. Pavatt remains on death row.

Meanwhile, Brenda is currently the only woman on death row in Oklahoma and she doesn’t currently have an execution date.

Shawna Forde

Shawna Forde was charged with the murders of Raul Flores Jr. and his daughter, Brisenia Ylianna Flores, during a home invasion in Arivaca, Arizona, on May 30, 2009. Flores Jr. was 29 years old at the time, while Flores was just 9 years old. Forde was sentenced to death in 2011 after she was found guilty of first-degree murder.

Forde is one of three women on death row in Arizona and has not yet been given an execution date.

Sammantha Uriarte

Sammantha Uriarte, also known as Sammantha Allen, was sentenced to death in August 2017 after she was found guilty of murdering her 10-year-old cousin, Ame Deal, in 2011 in Arizona. Uriarte and three other family members were charged with disciplining the girl by forcing her to do exercise in sweltering July heat, while they were also accused of locking her in a tiny footlocker overnight. She is one of three women on death row in Arizona and does not yet have an execution date.

Patricia Blackmon

Patricia Blackmon is currently on death row in Alabama after she was convicted of fatally beating her 28-month-old daughter, Dominiqua, in 1999. During the trial, the judge ruled that Blackmon was deserving of the death penalty because Dominiqua’s death was considered to be heinous and cruel. The child sustained several injuries, including a fractured skull.

Blackmon is one of five women on death row in Alabama and is awaiting her execution date.

Wendi Andriano

Wendi Andriano was sentenced to death in the state of Arizona in December 2004 after she was found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of her husband, Joe Andriano. Joe was struck in the head at least 23 times and stabbed in the neck, while investigators also found pesticides in his stomach.

Wendi claimed that Joe was physically and psychologically abusive during their relationship, though their friends said they never observed any signs of abuse.

Andriano is one of three women on death row in Arizona and a date has not yet been set for her execution.

Christie Michelle Scott

Christie Michelle Scott is one of five women waiting to be executed in the state of Alabama after she was convicted of killing her 6-year-old son, Mason, in a house fire in 2008. The murder took place shortly after she took out a life insurance policy on him.

Scott does not yet have an execution date.

Tierra Capri Gobble

One of five of the female death row inmates in Alabama is Tierra Capri Gobble, who was convicted of killing her 4-month-old son, Phoenix, in 2004. Phoenix died of blunt-force trauma to the head, while he also suffered fractures to the ribs, both wrists and his right arm. He was also found with bruises on his face, head, neck and chest. Meanwhile, a tear was found on the inside of Phoenix’s mouth that authorities said was consistent with a bottle having been shoved into his mouth.

Gobble has not been assigned an execution date as of time of publication.

Lisa Carpenter Graham

Lisa Carpenter Graham is one of five women on death row in Alabama after she was convicted of hiring a hit man to kill her daughter, 21-year-old Stephanie Shae Graham, in 2007.

Prior to her killing, Stephanie was allegedly using cocaine, stripping and had been arrested for her involvement in a drive-by shooting. Lisa allegedly believed her daughter was ruining her life, and she offered to pay neighbor Kenneth Walton $5,000 to kill her.

On the day of the killing, Walton convinced Stephanie to meet him at a Racetrac gas station and he lured her to a secluded area before he shot her in the head twice.

Walton pleaded guilty to murder and is currently serving life in prison. Meanwhile, Lisa does not yet have an execution date as she remains on death row.

Heather Leavell Keaton

Heather Leavell Keaton, who is the fourth of five women on death row in Alabama, was convicted of helping her common-law husband, John DeBlase, kill his two children, Chase, 3, and Natalie, 4, in 2010.

While she was originally given the death sentence in 2015, an appeals court overturned the sentence because she was not given the opportunity to speak on her own behalf during sentencing. However, she was once again sentenced to death in 2021.

DeBlase is also currently on death row in Alabama. Neither Keaton nor DeBlase have execution dates.

Michelle Michaud

Michelle Michaud was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping and multiple counts of oral copulation with special circumstances of kidnapping and rape by instrument in connection to the 1997 abduction and murder of Vanessa Lei Samson alongside her then-boyfriend, James Anthony Daveggio. Both Michaud and Daveggio were found guilty in May 2002 and were sentenced to death in the state of California.

Michaud is one of the 19 women on death row in California and does not yet have an execution date, while Daveggio also remains on death row as he awaits his execution.

Valerie Martin

Valerie Martin landed herself on death row in California in 2010 after she was convicted of murder in connection to the 2003 death of her boyfriend, William Whiteside. She is among the 19 women on death row in California and does not yet have an execution date.

Maureen McDermott

Maureen McDermott was convicted of first-degree murder and attem