JUSTICE Why sex can be fatal for lesbians
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Stereotyped media images of "killer dykes" and American Christian fundamentalism mean that 40 per cent of the women on death row in American prisons are lesbians or had an implication of lesbianism raised against them at their trial a Channel 4 documentary will allege on Monday.
This compares with estimates that the proportion of lesbians in the general population is no higher than 10 per cent.
The programme looked at the trials of the 46 women awaiting execution in the US and found that prosecutors used their sexual history - implying lesbianism, prostitution or promiscuity to secure the death penalty. The programme will argue that a mixture of Christian fundamentalism in parts of America and media images of lesbians influence the decisions of judges and juries. Paul McCann
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments