By AP/KWMU
Chillicothe, MO – The convicted killer who was once considered the oldest woman on death row in America has died.
Faye Copeland died Sunday of natural causes at a nursing home in the north-central Missouri town of Chillicothe. She was 82.
She and her husband were sentenced to die for killing five transients who had worked at their farm in the late 80s. She was the oldest woman on death row until a federal court in 1999 commuted her sentence to life in prison. After suffering a stroke in 2002, she was paroled to a nursing home. She was left partially paralyzed and unable to speak as a result of that stroke.
Her husband, Ray Copeland, died ten years ago at age 78. He was awaiting execution at Potosi Correctional Center.