PENNSYLVANIA 4 Prisoners

[ScotKaren]

PENNSYLVANIA (4)
Last Execution of a Female: October 14, 1946

Hill, Donetta Marie (Williams): Black; ages 23 and 24 at crimes and now age 38 (DOB: 9-23- 1966); murders of Asian male age 72 in Philadelphia on 6-20-1990 and of black male age 21 in Philadelphia on 3-24-1991; sentenced on 4-9- 1992.

King, Carolyn Ann (Ewell; Kline): Black; age 28 at crime and now age 39 (DOB: 12-9-1965); robbery and murder of white female adult in October 1993 in Lebanon; sentenced on 11-30-1994.

Markman, Beth Ann (Gaylord): White; age 34 at crime and now age 39 (DOB: 1-6-1966); kidnaping and murder of white (?) female age 18 in Cumberland County on 10-4-2000; sentenced in 2001.

Tharp, Michelle Sue: White; age 29 at crime and now age 36 (DOB: 1-20-1969); murder of white female age 7 (her daughter) in Burgettstown (Washington County) on 4-18-1998; sentenced on 11-14-2000.

[ohiogirl]

Profile of Michelle Tharp


Lisa Buonarosa, Kelley Crowley, Sandy Tilney

Who is Michelle Sue Tharp?

Little has been disclosed about her but community members who knew her describe her as manipulative and always wanting her own way.

Her attorney, Glenn Alterio, a public defender in Washington County, describes Tharp as "a victim."

Tharp, after being convicted of starving her 7-year-old to death in April 1998, was sentenced to death in November 2000. The jury, selected from Washington County, was supplied with haunting evidence—pictures of a gaunt Tausha after her body was disposed of in a bush along a West Virginia dirt path.

Alterio believes the photos were the turning point at which jurors sought a severe sentence. Alterio said the indelible image made it difficult to convince the community members that while Tharp may not have been a model mother, her circumstances should be given special consideration. He portrayed Tharp as a victim—someone who had a distinct history of abusive relationships not only with boyfriends but also with her father and stepmother. She was a working mother of four children, two of which had special needs, and on a routine basis had to deal with unsuitable living conditions (there was a hole in her ceiling). She was also getting public assistance and had to answer to many different organizations. Tharp did not own a car, so without any means of transportation, these routine meetings became a constant struggle when coupled with her work schedule.

"She lived a life that most of us cannot understand," Alterio said.

Despite these adverse circumstances, many community members don’t understand why Michelle Tharp barricaded her daughter in the kitchen without food while she and her other children feasted on dinner. Tharp claims that her daughter would eat so much she would throw up and that she knew her daughter’s limit. Lisa Camp, Tharp’s best friend at the time and who frequented her apartment, told police in a statement that food was not the only necessity, or privilege for that matter, that was withheld from Tausha.

"Tausha wasn’t allowed outside to play. Tausha wasn’t allowed to watch TV with the family, she was always sent alone to her room."

It’s evident that Tausha was treated differently than her other siblings. While the event shocked many community members, those who knew Tharp said that what she did was not outside her character.

When Camp asked Tharp about Tausha three weeks prior to her death and the discovery of her body, Camp told authorities that Tharp replied: "I wish she was six feet under and in a body bag."

Sources who declined to divulge their identity from Burgettstown High School, where Tharp attended school, said she was very defiant and unemotional. They were never surprised "when she was caught smoking in the bathroom, cutting class or drinking on the hill." If she were in the disciplinarian’s office, in lieu of suspension, Tharp would sit slumped with her hands across her chest, looking smug—communicating no remorse or regret.

Rhonda Lanham, paternal aunt of Tausha, recalls an incident concerning a new pair of shoes that best represents Tharp’s controlling nature.

Out having a drink and shooting some pool with her brother David, Tausha’s father and Tharp’s then-boyfriend, Lanham said, "Michelle came storming into the bar and asked David what he thought he was doing. She said, ‘I bought you those shoes, you think you are going out in those shoes?’ David kicked the shoes off in the middle of the bar and told her to ‘keep your d**n shoes, I don’t need them.’"

Tharp’s ability to manipulate certainly would not have saved her in court, but it serves as the only tangible explanation contributing to Tausha’s death. While not a sufficient theory, Lanham knows she will find herself asking why for years to come.

Most people, especially those who knew Tharp, will remain baffled. It’s only natural. But how many can honestly say she intentionally killed her child and that such a crime is worthy of the death penalty? Many citizens from her rural small town consider that question a no-brainer given Tharp’s negative character traits. But it’s those same people who look to place the blame on other individuals or systems, and never considered how their intervention may have redirected Tharp’s life. Who knows, maybe she was a hopeless cause. The reality of the situation is that an active role could have potentially saved not only one life, but two.

[johngalt43]

A peculiarity in Michelle Tharp's case: due to several factors which are made obvious by the above story, social workers visited her home repeatedly during Tausha's sort life. Curiously, none apparently noticed anything wrong--at least none so much as made a report alleging abuse of Tausha or recommending her removal from the home. Why?

Michelle Tharp's defense was that Tausha suffered from "failure to thrive" after coming into the world at a birth weight of less than two pounds.

Even in today's America, I find it strange to see that having an unpleasant personality can land one on Death Row.

[chris kirby]

Is there a prisoner that would Ike to keep in touch, and maybe reply, my heart goes out to you, I've been inside my self over in england, only for petty crimes, would like to talk, will keep in touch if any1 replys. Chris.