Woman on Death Row

by Velma Barfield

Velma Barfield was the first woman in the United States to be executed after the 1976 resumption of capital punishment and the first since 1962. She was also the first woman to be executed by lethal injection. Convicted of one murder but eventually confessing to others, this book is the story in her own words of her trials in life and her path towards spiritual redemption.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography

175 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1985

Reviews

[Gabby D · Rating 3 out of 5]

I selected the book Woman on Death Row while thrift shopping with my sister. I skimmed the back cover to get an idea of what it was about, but what really captured me was the title and my interest in learning more about death row in general. Plus it was only two dollars.
Velma Barfield was the first woman to be on death row. She wrote about her whole life, starting with her lousy childhood, her addiction to drugs, and the murders she committed. Of course, her life was brutal but that’s no excuse for her to kill six people. In the book Velma also wrote about her experience in jails and the different people she met. During Velma’s time in jail, she tried to get forgiveness from God by praying and taking anything negative in her life and turning it positive.
The parts about Velma’s childhood was very fascinating to read about and were necessary to add into the story. The author gave a lot of great details explaining what happened to Velma. It was very intriguing to hear about her experience with drug addiction. It made me feel sympathetic for Velma and wished someone would have helped her.
The beginning and middle of the story are interesting but towards the end it got a bit boring. I’m not very religious and there’s a good chunk of the book just on the religious topic. Guess I could be the one blamed for reading it in the first place. It just ended up being overly repeated and made these parts boring to read.
Aside from that, the book was very inspirational. It’s a good book and an easy read if you want something quick.

[Amanda Carroll · Rating 5 out of 5]

Happen in my area of course not during my time but I heard about her and wanted to read her story. I liked the book a lot

[Terry Conrad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in the early 90's, way before ebooks. I wanted to read it again so I ordered it from a used book store. I read some reviews on Amazon and some people felt she was blaming her drug addiction on her horrible crimes. Velma Barfield says this in the preface of the book. I want to make it clear that I am not blaming the drugs for my crimes. I am not blaming my troubled childhood or my marriage problems. I bear the responsibility for the wrongs I have done. They are my sins and my crimes. She also stated this in the book. I think the thing I liked the most was redemption. Here is a woman who poisoned and killed 4 people. God's grace and mercy was offered. His forgiveness is given to any who truly repent no matter their crimes. God used this person in an amazing way in prison. I'm really glad I reread this book.

[Erin Sweet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had a huge impact on me. Velma had so many experiences and feelings that just about anyone can identify with. She then goes on to overcome all of her sins spiritually (too late, sadly). As I read, my views went from agreeing with the jury's verdict to disagreeing whole heartedly. Velma Barfield did NOT deserve to die. She had sinned and understood that. Through God, she found a way to change and yet in the 70's, only a select few could see that. The saddest part is that she wasn't ever asking for freedom... only her life. Yet she was executed anyways.
I sobbed through the last few chapters because of the unfairness of it all. Personally, I am not religious and don't believe in God. However, this book really touched me.

[Wendy Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book basically at random off one of the many shelves of old books in my parent's basement. I read it in a day and a half, and was captivated by Velma's story. The title itself is simple, self explanatory, yet catchy. Woman on Death Row. Velma was the first woman to be executed on Death Row by lethal injection in the U.S. She writes in first person about her life, the abuse she endured growing up, her addiction to many different pills/drugs, and the murders she committed. She also writes about how she found God in prison, and how He drastically changed her life during the six years she spent on Death Row, waiting to be executed. I would recommend this book to anyone. It's a simple, easy read, and also very rewarding.

[Eyeluv2read · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short read but I took my time reading it. I wanted to marinate over the words and chapters I had read. Very honest words. Her life was tragic (upbringing), however that didn't excuse her actions because others had gone through worse and still did not turn out to be a serial killer. I also found it interesting how she recognized she never truly understood what having a relationship with Jesus Christ was all about until she was behind bars. It's evident that a lot of criminals use their "come to Jesus" moment as a ploy to lessen their sentence, but, it was proven her transformation was real. I enjoyed this story and then did some further research online. This is a story worth checking out.

[Summer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a beautiful, but very hard read. Velma's testimony is so powerful and really made me think about some things differently. I docked a star because parts of the book were written too much in "Christianese" and that gets annoying, and that's coming from a fellow Christian. But Velma's story is one that I believe everyone should be acquainted with.

[Marti Yockey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very dark times for Velma. It is just sooooo damn common for abuse on a child can lead to some violent decisions as they get older. BE NICE TO PEOPLE

[Shanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Woman on Death Row

This is an excellent read on the life of a woman on death row for 6 years who turned to God and changed her life while in prison. Not to get into a debate on the Lord or whether she should or should not have been put to death just my opinion on the book.

Velma Barfield had a life that was pretty rough. They were poor, they didn't have lights or running water, her parents were abusive. Her father abused her, her mother knew it and turned the other cheek. The children fought because Velma felt that the other children were more favored over her. Eventually Velma was able to start school at age 7 but was bullied because of her worn and tattered clothes. At this time, she began stealing and the last time she stole from her father he beat her so bad she said she would never steal again. When she was not being physically abused, she was being sexually abused in the bed of her parents until high school. Her mother required her to cook all the meals and to take care of all the children. She stated she felt more like a "slave" than a child of the home. No, this doesn't excuse anything she did, and she never said that it did. She owned up to and accepted the punishment for the things that she had done.

Velma Barfield was addicted to multiple drugs at one time that she severely overused. Her mind at that time was in a state of drugged up nothingness and her main concern at the time was to obtain those drugs that her mind said she needed so dearly. With that on her mind she wrote bad checks on those she took care of and instead of admitting what she had done and owning up to the fact that she was a drug addict she did the unthinkable and poisoned them. Including her own mother. When she married Stuart, and he died the DA of Lumberton decided to delve into the death and brought her in for questioning. It was at this time that Velma confessed to all the murders.

I live in the town of Lumberton, NC where this story takes place. And here the drug addicts pretty much outnumber the people who are not addicted. She is a serial killer and was executed by lethal injection November 2, 1984. Until that time she found the Lord. She dived into her Bible and found that the Lord Jesus does forgive those that are even convicted of murder(s). At the end after all her appeals ran out, and way before then, she helped hundreds of people find the Lord and find forgiveness. Does this negate the fact that Velma murdered all those people? No. But was she forgiven by the Lord for her sins? In her mind she was.

If you believe in the Lord, or even if not, this is a great read on the forgiveness and kindness of our Lord Jesus. This read may just change your mind on Capital Punishment, then again it may not. It is up to you as to what you believe and how you will feel after reading this memoir.

I for one, loved this book.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting true story of a female death row inmate. She did confess to her crimes, very sadly, she was so out of her mind on prescription medications (tranquillizers, sleep aids, narcotic pain killers, etc) that she had no understanding of the impact she was having. She wanted to "make them sick" but didn't connect their deaths with her actions until she was no longer in a drug-induced state. She had a true conversion in prison and was able to minister to other inmates in the 4 years until her execution. It was a sad, yet uplifting story.
This all happened in the early 80s, way before their was much awareness of this type of drug abuse.

[Kati Did · Rating 2 out of 5]

Far too religious for me

[Jennifer]

This book was a very interesting true story of a woman who found God while on deathrow. The story is inspirational, showing the strength of a woman who asks for forgiveness from all those she had wronged in her life. It can be depressing at times because of the path the story takes but is worth it.

[Eva-Marie Nevarez]

I guess I'd find God too if I were her... Don't know if I'll read this - saw the listing and recognized Barfield's name. I may read it at some point. Just to see what a beautiful, wonderful, caring human she was.

[Nicole C. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Velma Barfield had a bad childhood, got addicted to painkillers, poisoned some people (including her own mother), went to prison, found Jesus, and was executed by lethal injection in 1984. This is her own story, and mostly talks about her religious path. Kind of boring.

[Brittney · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title is a great summary of the book. Starts off interesting, explaining her childhood, and struggles leading up to her crimes. Became quite boring once her story became about her religious path.

[Carrie Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story.