Who was Wanda Jean?(black woman executed in the United States)

Publication: The Advocate (The national gay & lesbian newsmagazine)

Publication Date: 13-MAR-01

Bookmark this article Print this article Link to this article Email this article Digg It! Add to del.icio.us RSS

COPYRIGHT 2001 Liberation Publications, Inc.

The life of Wanda Jean Allen, the first black woman executed in the U.S. since 1954, was full of contradictions, starting with her sexual orientation.

By last fall Wanda Jean Allen realized that her time was almost up. The U.S. Supreme Court had rejected her appeal, and her January 11 execution date was fast approaching. If she could not convince Oklahoma governor Frank Keating to grant her clemency, she would almost certainly become the first African-American woman to be put to death in this country in nearly half a century. So Allen asked for an audience with Theotis Payne.

Payne, the host of a popular Oklahoma City talk-radio program, is one of only a handful of African-Americans in Oklahoma capable of spearheading the sort of public relations campaign that stood any chance of swaying the conservative Keating. Payne was intrigued by Allen's case, but before agreeing to muster his troops behind her, he needed to ensure that he and Allen were on the same page when it came to one important matter.

"I said, `Wanda, there is an issue we have to clear up before I start bringing these black people in here to support you,'" Payne recalls. "I said, `What's the deal about you being a lesbian?'

"She said, `I used to be a lesbian. I had interest in women. But I promise you, I've been converted as a Christian. And in my Christian faith that is a sin....

Read the full article for free courtesy of your local library.