Texas woman set for execution for starving girlfriend's son

HUNTSVILLE, Texas, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- If Lisa Ann Coleman dies by lethal injection Wednesday for starving her girlfriend's son, she would become the second woman executed in Texas and the United States this year.

Coleman, 38, was scheduled to be put to death at 6 p.m. at the state prison in Huntsville.

Davontae Williams died in 2004 at the age of 9, weighing only 35 pounds. A medical examiner determined the cause was malnutrition and pneumonia, but also found hundreds of injuries from beatings.

The state Board of Pardons and Paroles refused clemency on Monday. Her lawyer, John Stickels, argued that she should have been offered a plea bargain like Marcella Williams, Davontae's mother and Coleman's partner.

"What she's really guilty of is being a black lesbian," Stickels said. "If she is executed, it will be because of her sexual orientation. Her sexual orientation played a role in the state choosing to seek the death penalty and in her getting the death penalty. I have hope that I can save her."

At her trial, Coleman acknowledged beating Davontae, although she denied some other accusations. Prosecutors said Davontae had been kidnapped, locked in a room and kept from other people.

Williams pleaded guilty after Coleman's 2006 conviction and is serving a life sentence. She will be eligible for parole when she is 65.

Unless the execution is stayed, Coleman will be the ninth person put to death in Texas this year and the 15th woman to be executed in the United States since 1976. In February, Texas executed Suzanne Basso for participating in the killing of a mentally challenged man for his life insurance.