Cathy Young

About the author: Cathy Young is the author of Ceasefire! Why Women and Men Must Join Forces to Achieve True Equality.

Gender bias is apparent in the application of the death penalty. Women are less likely to be executed than men are for committing similar kinds of murders, and women are more likely than men to have their death sentences commuted. This unequal administration of capital punishment is largely due to a paternal sexism that manifests itself in an overprotectiveness toward women. Female murderers, for example, garner more sympathy because they tend to be perceived as victims of abuse or despair and not as calculating killers. Making such excuses for female violence undermines the goals of feminism because it denies women's moral accountability.

On a Tuesday night in...