By AP/KWMU
St. Louis, MO – Prosecutors have dropped plans to seek the death penalty for a St. Louis County woman accused of killing her teenage son.
Sandra Kemper, 48, faced the prospect of being the first women in the county to face death since capital punishment was reinstated in 1977. No woman has been executed by the state of Missouri in 150 years.
Kemper is accused of planning the death of her 15-year old son Zachary as a way to collect insurance money. Zachary died in his home in an early-morning fire in November 2001.
Kemper's trial starts in December.