In rare case, woman set for execution in Texas for torture slaying of mentally impaired man

HUNTSVILLE, Texas – A woman is scheduled to be executed in Texas for the torture slaying of a mentally impaired man she lured to the state with the promise of marriage before siphoning his benefits and money.

If 59-year-old Suzanne Basso is lethally injected as scheduled Wednesday, she would be only the 14th woman executed in the U.S. since the Supreme Court allowed the death penalty to resume in 1976. By comparison, almost 1,400 men have been put to death.

Texas has executed four women and 505 men.

Basso was convicted in the 1998 slaying of 59-year-old Louis "Buddy" Musso. His beaten body was found in a ditch outside Houston.

Basso's attorney lost an appeal Tuesday at a federal appeals court. An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is still possible.