Shirley Bellinger
Shirley Bellinger, played by Kathryn Erbe in the HBO series Oz, is a fictional character who was first presented in the related book OZ: Behind These Walls: The Journal of Augustus Hill.[1] She is based on child murderer Susan Smith.[2]
Character overview
"Prisoner 97B642. Convicted December 6, 1997 - Murder in the first degree. Sentence: Death. Sentence
Shirley Bellinger is the first and only woman to be incarcerated at Oswald. She was
While she keeps mostly to herself and has a shy, charming demeanor, she shows some signs of psychological instability; shortly after her arrival, she
Along with James Robson, Bellinger is one of two regulars who do not live in Emerald City.
Fictional history
Season 2
Bellinger arrives on Death Row and comments on how "comfortable" her new home is to Warden Glynn. While on Death Row, she flashes her vulva to Timmy Kirk who is on mop duty. Father Mukada visits Bellinger on Death Row in an effort to see her state of mind. She opens up to Mukada about how she was not a religious person growing up and that her first husband was Jewish and her second husband Zeke was an atheist. She then makes a pass at Mukada by commenting on how his collar is on too tight. Mukada gets nervous and immediately tells her to stop. She then breaks down and cries. Later, she sees Diane Wittlesey pass on through. Bellinger asks Wittlesey to be her friend and is rejected, and Wittlesey asks Bellinger how she could live with herself after what she has done. Bellinger replies that she did what she had to do and that she is able to sleep. She then puts her hand on Wittlesey's hand in a gesture of sympathy. She exchanges a series of
Season 3
Bellinger is joined by
Bellinger loses her final
Soon afterward, however, she learns that she is
Season 4
After
As her execution date nears, Bellinger's ex-husband, Zeke, visits her and offers forgiveness. Angered, she tells him she killed their daughter because she was raped by Zeke's father and Katie was actually Zeke's half-sister. Furious, Zeke punches her in the face, knocking out a tooth.
Her execution date arrives, and she assures everyone around her she is ready to die. She talks to
As she is led to the gallows, however, her survival instinct kicks in, and she violently resists her guards, begging not to be hanged. She is eventually subdued and executed as planned.
Later in the series, her character appears as a ghost and narrates an episode of season 6.
References
- ^ Augustus Hill, OZ: Behind These Walls: The Journal of Augustus Hill (HarperEntertainment, 2003), 93.
- ^ 'OZ' PEN IS MIGHTIER Prison drama continues to be one of TV's best[permanent dead link]," New York Daily News (July 11th 2000).