The Women's Executions Database

Presented here is a dataset containing all known executions of women carried out under civil authority up until 2021. Many studies that mention gender use a dataset that estimates that about 365 women were executed in the U.S. between 1608 and 2002. The number of women executed in the U.S. since the 1600s is, in fact, higher than 700. The goal is to produce a dataset that encompasses experiences most relevant to women (e.g., histories of trauma, parenthood) in addition to providing variables that will allow for evidence-based quantitative research. My priority is to verify the preexisting dataset and add new variables as I come across them. The data that currently exists is incomplete but is the best collection (thanks mainly to the data collection efforts of the M.E. Grenander Archivists and Librarians at the University of Albany and are therefore ready for preliminary analysis. With that said, requesting a different format (SPSS or STATA) and/or clarification on specific items will only help me so do not hesitate to contact me. Until I have completed my application with zenodo, please refer to the larger project in which the data are housed: The women's executions project.