Texas Performs 500th Execution

Texas yesterday executed Kimberly McCarthy, marking the state's 500th execution since it brought back the death penalty in 1982. McCarthy, 52, was the first woman to face the death penalty in the US in three years, the AP notes. She was associated with three killings, including the stabbing of 71-year-old Dorothy Booth, from whom she'd borrowed a cup of sugar. Before her execution, McCarthy told listeners: "This is not a loss. This is a win. You know where I'm going. I'm going home to be with Jesus. Keep the faith. I love you all."

Said Booth's daughter, per the Houston Chronicle: "The finality of this event has allowed me to say goodbye to my mother. We are grateful to see justice fulfilled." Meanwhile, about 40 protesters demonstrated outside the prison, singing the spiritual "Wade in the Water" and carrying signs. "I look forward to the day when we recognize that this pointless and barbaric practice, imposed almost exclusively on those who are poor and disproportionately on people of color, has no place in a civilized society," said McCarthy's lawyer. (More Texas stories.)