her name was florence schumaker thompson. she was asked if she would fill in and become the sheriff in her husband's absence. she said yes. she was sworn in in davis county the day after her husband's funeral. and as unusual as it was at the time, in the 1930s, to have a woman sheriff in the united states, the reason florence schumaker thompson became nationally famous as a local county sheriff in kentucky at the time is because while she was sheriff of that county, she had to carry out a hanging. just a few weeks after she was sworn in, an african-american man named rainy bathea was sentenced to die in davis county, kentucky, after he was convicted of raping and murdering a local white woman. he did not protest his innocence. although he did fight his sentence. he tried to avoid the death sentence, but the county did convict him and they were determined to hang him and sheriff florence schumaker thompson thereby became the first woman in the united states to be given the task of carrying out an execution. hundreds of reporte