THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Convicted for the murder of Sharon Raj, S S Greeshma on Monday became the youngest person in the state to receive the death sentence.
The 24-year-old is the third woman to be awarded the death penalty and the second woman on death row in the state. Rafeeqa Beevi, convicted in the Mulloor Santhakumari murder case last year, is the other woman awaiting capital punishment.
With the announcement of the quantum of sentence in the Sharon murder case, there are now 35 people on death row in the state. Judge A M Basheer, who also delivered the verdict in the Santhakumari case, sentenced Greeshma to death, citing the brutal nature of her crime.
In 2006, after being found guilty of murdering her husband Vidhukumaran Thampi, Binitha became the first woman to be awarded the death penalty in the state. However, her sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by the High Court.
Rafeeqa was sentenced to death last May for murdering, Santhakumari, an elderly woman, with the intention of stealing her jewellery. Rafeeqa’s accomplices, including her son Shefeek and friend Al Ameen, also received death sentences, making it the only case in the state where all the accused were awarded capital punishment.
Rafeeqa and Greeshma are both lodged in Thiruvananthapuram women’s prison. Of the other 33 inmates awaiting capital punishment in the state, 23 are housed in Poojappura central prison, with four each in Viyyur and Kannur central prisons. There two death row convicts in Viyyur high-security prison.