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Two of the women on death row in America have had their appeals rejected this week.

Michelle Tharp in Pennsylvania. Long time readers here know my history with Michelle Tharp. She will never be free and will eventually be executed. She was found guilty of starving her 7-year-old daughter to death in 1998.
She filed an appeal on the grounds that she had not received a fair trial. It was rejected.

The other one is Robin Lee Row of Idaho. I have had no contact with her. She has returned all letters from me with notes that she does not accept any more penpals.
She was convicted of the 1992 killing of her husband and two children by setting their Boise duplex on fire. At her sentencing the following year, a judge said she was a pathological liar and "the embodiment of the cold-blooded, pitiless slayer."
Her news is slightly better.
Her appeal is based on a contention that secret tape recordings of phone calls shouldn't have been allowed into evidence and a claim that she had brain damage. Although the judge dismissed her appeal he gave her permission to plea to a higher court on several issues. The book Deadly Confidante is a very meticulous rendition of the case. Lots of detail and several points of view I found startling.

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