Linda Lyon

Lynda Lyon Block was born on the 8th February 1948 in Orlando, Florida. Never close with her mother, who she claimed had been both physically and mentally abusive, Block’s father died of heart failure when she was 10.

In 1993 Block shot a police officer dead with a handgun and was condemned to death in Alabama’s electric chair, known as “Big Yellow Mama”.

On the 10th May 2002, Block walked to her execution wearing a white prison outfit and black hood over her shaven head. Her eyes were wide, blank and emotionless. At 12.01 a.m. the execution began when a 2,050-volt shock was sent through her body for 20 seconds; steam came from the sponge on her head and the electrode on her left leg. She then received 250 volts for a further 100 seconds. At 12.10 a.m. Block was declared dead. Department of Corrections Commissioner Michael Haley said her execution was routine. With this act, a century of using electricity on condemned women in the USA came to an end.