The Last Woman Executed in Ohio: Betty Butler

On September 6th, 1952, Betty Butler viciously murdered Evelyn Clark, while fishing at Sharon Woods. An argument occurred, and once they were back to shore, multiple witnesses saw Betty attack and drown Evelyn. No one denies Betty is guilty, not even Betty herself, but what happened to cause such a violent crime? Join us as we peel back the layers of this case and try to understand why Betty did it. 

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Theme Music by Brad Frank

For a full list of sources, go to https://tea-time-crimes.simplecast.com/episodes.

Sources:

• Deadly Women: Season 10, Episode 13, “Friends to Foes.” Episode aired Nov 26, 2016, Director: Ryan Osmond, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6276114/
• Spooked by Ken Summers, “Dead Women Tell No Tales…Or Do They?” Wednesday, August 3, 2011, https://moonspenders.blogspot.com/2011/08/dead-women-tell-no-tales-or-do-they.html
• “'A War of Currents': The Real Story of Thomas Edison and the Invention of the Electric Chair.” By Kevin Martin, May 08, 2019, Magellan, https://www.magellantv.com/articles/a-war-of-currents-the-real-story-of-thomas-edison-and-the-invention-of-the-electric-chair
• Report: Ohio’s Capital-Punishment System Remains Unworkable, Ohio Attorney General, April 1st, 2024, https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Media/News-Releases/April-2024/Report-Ohio%E2%80%99s-Capital-Punishment-System-Remains-Un
• Department of Rehabilitation & Correction, “Capital Punishment: Overview.” https://drc.ohio.gov/about/capital-punishment/capital-punishment
• Death Penalty Information Center, “History of the Death Penalty.” https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/state-and-federal-info/state-by-state/ohio
• STATE v. THOMPSON (2002): Supreme Court of Ohio, The STATE of Ohio, Appellee, v. THOMPSON, Appellant, No. 2001-0333, Decided: May 15, 2002, https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/oh-supreme-court/1152986.html
• “West End Woman Strangled, Drowned in Sharon Woods.” The Cincinnati Enquirer, Sun, Sep 07, 1952, Page 1, https://www.newspapers.com/image/102828410/
• “Rival Choked and Drowned; Woman Held for Grand Jury.” The Cincinnati Enquirer, Mon, Sep 08, 1952, Page 14, https://www.newspapers.com/image/102828825/
• “Indicted for Murder.” (AP) News Journal, Sat, Oct 04, 1952, Page 1, https://www.newspapers.com/image/294545519/
• “Jury Seated Tentatively In Lake Murder Trial.” The Cincinnati Enquirer, Wed, Mar 04, 1953, Page 8, https://www.newspapers.com/image/100606455/
• “Bus Balks Jury’s Trip.” The Cincinnati Enquirer, Thu, Mar 05, 1953, Page 26, https://www.newspapers.com/image/100606557/
• “State Complete Testimony In Willful Drowning.” The Cincinnati Enquirer, Sat, Mar 07, 1953, Page 14, https://www.newspapers.com/image/103287432/
• “Blame Killing on Victim.” The Cincinnati Enquirer, Tue, Mar 10, 1953, Page 5, .css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}