Embedded Files
I am a Professor of Political Science & Criminal Justice at the University of South Alabama. I currently teach classes in Research Methods, Gender & Criminal Justice, and other criminal justice courses but have also taught courses in political science such as Race, Gender, & Politics. I have directed numerous internships ranging from students working for private detectives, law firms, and various nonprofits. My previous work involved a brief stint in law enforcement, a domestic violence agency, and data entry. I am originally from Germany but have lived and worked in a number of states including Colorado, New Mexico, New York, (briefly) Ohio, and, now, Alabama. Want to read more about this project? Just click on that down arrow.
My recent and ongoing research addresses the lack of gender in capital punishment research which informed the need for this website and further research. I anticipate that refining the dataset, adding much-needed variables-- will be my focus for many years to come. While seemingly divergent, the connections to my past and current research interest are many including the identity component and, specifically, how that intersects with abuse and violence both at the individual and structural levels. My sabbatical from 2023-2024 was originally centered on building off the research of Dr. David V. Baker and Victor L. Streib. During the course of my research, I found that "America's Foremost Historian of the Death Penalty" was from Alabama--the place I now call home. Despite M. Watt Espy's recognition in academia, particularly the dataset named the "Espy File", I quickly discovered that the bulk of his research has yet to be fully recognized. I hope to help shine light on this extraordinary person -- the first person to undertake the momentous task of documenting all state-sanctioned executions in U.S. history--while simultaneously providing the most comprehensive listing of executed women to date. For a flowchart, follow this link.
The team! Up until this point, it has consisted of myself and Ananya Chari who, due to her (many) responsibilities as a medical student applicant, honor student, Leader of the Satyarthi Movement Pilot Program at U. South Alabama, and a plethora of exhausting other projects, has had only limited time for data collection but has served as an invaluable source of support since we met by what seemed to be pure happenstance. I know better (she tracked me down and I'm better off for it). For more, click on that down arrow
Thankfully, beginning in Fall of 2026, the "team" will be an actual team in which we will have a web designer (thank goodness) to aid in the transition to a new platform and generally improve on this site AND three students who will be tackling different aspects of women's executions and aid in the collection, verification, and analysis of data. A separate page of team members, their interests and qualifications, will be posted sometime in August. It is exciting given that these team members all came to this project independently from completely different backgrounds (one from computing, a graduate student of public administration, a criminal justice student, and, of course, a student from the medical sciences).
(some of) the people that inspired or contributed, directly or indirectly, to where I am today
(some of) the people that inspired or contributed, directly or indirectly, to where I am today
Linda Kowall, my mother; Emily, my sister; Jimmy, my best friend; and my unnamed but oh-so-appreciated partner in life and amazing family. My family in America (and yes, of course, the Waites in my favorite place--Staten Island, NYC) and my family in Sachsen, Germany. Thank you, Kim. You know why. The Satori crowd. Karen and Chuck (the OG SC of Mobile), thank you.
Thank you to my former students of whose accomplishments I'm so proud but, in all honesty, who stand out as exceptional people. I am proud to have been in their orbits. Anna, Rachel (the one who works for the Texas Attorney General! ), and Rachel (Seattle doing important things that is all I will say), Darcy (be my lawyer), Sonja, Lilia, Lauren (also be my lawyer), Lindsey (location protected! But apparently you're also close to Erica and a couple of other of my favorite people doing amazing work), Talia, Patrick, Andrew, A'Mya, Mallory, Robby ("The"), Colleen, Leatha, Alton, The OG AG, Margaret, Corbin, Allysa, Abdo, Dara, Joe, Brantley, Peter, Noah, Mayte, Mohammed, Breighanna (founder of Stopping Traffick), (off the top of my head...I know there are so many more because I am oldish :) ), Calvilyn...I could really use your help with all of this.
The Rape Crisis Center (Shawna, of course) for opening my eyes, for inspiring so many of my students.
Aid to Inmate Mothers, https://inmatemoms.org/ (Carol Potok, thank you, and thank you Mrs. Smykla for introducing us!). Thank you to Sue Bell Cobb, Former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court and founder of Redemption Earned. Dorothy M. Schulz. It's been an honor to share a name so closely (lucky, really) and it was such an honor to have met you, albeit only for a short time. I know you are missed. Thank you for letting me talk (at) you. I was so excited to share time with you and you were so gracious.
The University of New Orleans Political Science Department, particularly my mentor Professor Richard Engstrom, who, without his brilliance and encouragement, I know I would not be as fortunate in my career as I have been. I'm eternally grateful. Drs. Day, Huelshoff, Hadley, and Rosenblum....thank you. To my former colleagues Hannes, Mike, and Steve.
Lastly, certain not least, the University of South Alabama, especially the many outstanding colleagues I have and have had the pleasure to work with (or just enjoy their company. Steve :) ). I am so fortunate to have had the support of the department and the university throughout the years in pursuing research and teaching that I am passionate about. Sarah, Amber, MJ, Valerie, Robin, Tim, Chris, ...I miss seeing you, your wisdom, your kindness. The students who have shown interest, encouragement, and have had the patience to listen to me talk...even after class is way over. And...those students who are going to help me transform this site into something truly amazing...Laney, Slayer, and Sonja.
Data collection is important!
As Clinical Professor Sandra Babcock, Cornell Law School and the Co-Founder of the Center on Gender and Extreme Sentencing explains,
"Andrew has long asserted that prosecutors tainted her case with irrelevant testimony regarding her sex life, mothering skills, and clothing. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court agreed. With this landmark 7–2 ruling, the nation’s highest court recognized that harmful gender stereotypes can poison women’s criminal trials." (link to the full article here)
As of June 19th, the case is still being considered. Link to NPR story here
Or, if you prefer, "give credit to whom credit is due"-Samuel Adams
If you would like to be added to the list of contributors, all you need to do is contribute. Alternatively, if you do not want credit, be sure to let me know. There are many places to be credited whether be suggestions for resources for individual persons executed or additional variables in the study description. I would like to create an official acknowledgements page as well as space to showcase the research of others in the field.
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