Women's Executions Project - WEB: The women's executions database

The dataset

specific variables/resources/dataset format available upon request

The current version includes the full listing of women identified thus far and a set of variables currently used in the Women’s Execution Database (WEB) Master Sheet. Each variable corresponds to a detailed entry in the project codebook, which defines coding decisions, data sources, and classification rules. Available upon request

Five variables are currently coded numerically (for example, Offender Race: 0 = White; 1 = Black). While these codes are clearly defined in the codebook, they will soon be converted to text labels to make the dataset more intuitive for users.

Citation and other important information concerning the use of WEB:

Preferred Citation

Corina Schulze. (2026). The Women's Executions Database [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18785463

Archival Permanence

Each public version is permanently archived in Zenodo that guarantees: A persistent DOI, Long-term digital preservation, an Immutable record of deposited files. The Google Sites display version is informational; the archived DOI version constitutes the authoritative citable record.

Corrections and Error Reporting

Researchers identifying potential errors are encouraged to contact the Principal Investigator. Verified corrections will be incorporated into the next incremental release and documented in the change log.

Ethical Use and Commitment to transparency

Because the dataset documents historical executions, users are expected to:

Interpret cases within documented historical context.
Cite primary archival limitations when relevant.
Avoid speculative inference beyond documented evidence.

The Women’s Executions Project adheres to contemporary standards of open science, historical documentation transparency, and reproducible research practices.

The above and the more complete (but older) public dataset is currently accessible via Zenodo. The working dataset is described in dataset notes page and are available upon request (Dr. Corina Schulze, cschulze@southalabama.edu). The dataset notes page has been updated to document significant changes to the data that are not readily apparent from the Excel spreadsheet alone.

The drop-down menu includes a flowchart that documents my auditing protocol, beginning with the original M. Watt Espy index cards as the foundational source and proceeding through systematic cross-verification and recoding procedures.

Click on figure for a larger version of the Research Flowchart. I will be providing an updated flowchart that reflects my rechecking all of my work using the original Espy index cards as a starting point

Preferred citation if you want to cite all versions (or you aren't sure): Corina Schulze. (2025). The women's executions database [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17487467

For specific versions as identified by date, see https://zenodo.org/records/15867265.

The original dataset is found here: Introducing the Women’s Execution Database . This page remains as a record of the initial publication that made this project possible and as a record of my progress.

Variables 0-2, 5-6, 14, 19-22 (also contained in WEB) were completed for publication in the journal "Sexes." The data are found in the link "Introducing the Women's Executions Project [...]."

The primary purpose of this website has shifted to providing the major findings as I continue to work on WEB that will only be available upon request. The “Enslaved Black Women” preliminary findings page presents early results from the Women’s Executions Project documenting enslaved Black women who were executed in the United States and whose cases have been historically undercounted, misclassified, or omitted from standard datasets. Drawing heavily on Espy index card materials and corroborating archival sources, the page identifies individual women—such as Elizabeth (1856), Amy (1832), Grace (1693), Chloe (1737), and Jane (1858), among others—while noting that many cases remain partially documented, with years, locations, or circumstances still under verification. The findings emphasize that enslaved Black women were disproportionately subjected to capital punishment, often for alleged crimes involving resistance, murder or suspected murder of slaveholders or household members, and arson, within a legal system designed to protect slavery and racial hierarchy. To date, the project has verified nearly 150 executions of Black women related to murder or suspected murder and approximately 60 executions for arson, figures that significantly alter prior understandings of women’s executions. Of the women previously missing or unaccounted for in legacy Espy-based datasets, a substantial majority are now identified as Black women, underscoring the extent of historical erasure. The page also highlights the frequent presence of compensation claims paid to slaveowners following executions, reinforcing the legal treatment of enslaved women as property. Overall, the page situates these preliminary findings as part of an ongoing effort to correct the historical record, refine racial and gendered execution statistics, and make transparent the scope and limitations of the current data while further archival research continues.

Page updated

Report abuse