United States, Georgia, Tattnall County, Reidsville, 32.08686, -82.1179Phillips, Lela B., 1944-2005-12-09Encyclopedia article about the Lena Baker case. Lena Baker was the first and only woman to be executed in Georgia's electric chair. She was executed in 1945, after she was convicted of murdering a man who had imprisoned her. At the time of Baker's execution, the Georgia prison system was under scrutiny for reform. In August 2005 Baker was pardoned posthumously by the state Board of Pardons and Paroles. The board acknowledged that the 1945 decision to deny Baker clemency was "a grievous error" and that Baker could have been charged with the lesser crime of voluntary manslaughter, which would have prevented the sentence of capital punishment.GSE identifier: SS8H10text/htmlengForms part of the New Georgia Encyclopedia.http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/Forms part of the New Georgia Encyclopedia.Capital punishmentFemale offenders--Georgia--ReidsvilleWomen murderers--Georgia--ReidsvilleDeath row inmates--Georgia--ReidsvillePrisoners--Georgia--ReidsvilleWomen prisoners--Georgia--ReidsvilleElectrocution--Georgia--ReidsvilleWomen death row inmates--Georgia--ReidsvilleCrime and race--GeorgiaCriminal justice, Administration of--GeorgiaDiscrimination in criminal justice administration--GeorgiaLena Baker caseText