Condemned inmate remains in close contact with attorneys and spiritual adviser as Tuesday execution approaches
ROCKVILLE — With her scheduled execution now just days away, Isabela “Bela” Del Toro has been transferred to Rockville Penitentiary’s death-watch cell, where she is expected to remain under constant supervision until her sentence is carried out Tuesday morning.
Del Toro, 39, was moved to the isolated cell last week as prison officials began final preparations for her execution by electric chair on Tuesday, September 22. According to reports from inside the institution, the once-notorious prison figure has alternated between periods of relative calm and intense anxiety as the date approaches.
She has spent portions of her final days meeting with her spiritual adviser and attorneys, whose efforts to obtain a last-minute reprieve have so far been unsuccessful. Del Toro has also appealed to the governor for intervention.
As of Sunday, no stay had been issued, and corrections officials said the state remains prepared to carry out the sentence as scheduled.
From Gang Shooting to Rockville Queenpin
Del Toro’s path to death row began in 2008, only days after her 21st birthday.
Prosecutors said she participated in a drive-by shooting that killed a member of a rival gang. Investigators believed several people were involved, but a partial fingerprint recovered from a TEC-9 provided evidence linking Del Toro to the weapon.
Del Toro, who was pregnant at the time, refused to cooperate against the other suspected participants, including the father of her unborn child. She was ultimately convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to a lengthy prison term.
Her influence reportedly grew dramatically after she arrived at Rockville.
From approximately 2010 through 2018, authorities alleged that Del Toro became a central figure in the penitentiary’s illicit drug trade, building a distribution network and using other inmates to maintain control. During those years, prison officials recorded an increase in violent assaults involving improvised weapons.
Del Toro faced three separate prosecutions involving allegations of murder or solicitation of murder. None resulted in a conviction.
That changed in 2018.
According to prosecutors, a woman associated with Del Toro’s organization agreed to cooperate with the state. Her testimony threatened both Del Toro and members of the criminal organization operating outside the prison.
Before the witness could testify, prosecutors said Del Toro cornered and fatally stabbed her in an area of the prison known to have limited surveillance.
A correctional officer unexpectedly encountered Del Toro shortly afterward. Prosecutors said Del Toro killed the officer as well, apparently unaware that he was wearing a newly issued body camera.
The recording became the centerpiece of the state’s case.
Del Toro was convicted of murder and, in 2019, sentenced to death in the electric chair.
A Different Del Toro on Death Watch
Prison sources describe Del Toro’s behavior during her final days as markedly different from the confidence she displayed during much of her incarceration.
She has reportedly been more cooperative with correctional staff while housed on death watch. At times she has appeared composed, while at others she has become visibly frightened and panicked over the approaching execution.
Her attorneys have continued pursuing available legal remedies and have asked the governor to intervene. Del Toro herself has reportedly pleaded for the execution to be stopped.
Those efforts have not altered the schedule.
Her execution comes roughly a month after the execution of Shania Harris, which generated allegations that problems occurred during the procedure. State authorities have disputed those accounts, maintaining that the Harris execution was completed according to protocol. Officials say the electric chair and associated equipment have been inspected and that they expect Tuesday’s execution to proceed as planned.
Final Hours
If no court or executive intervention occurs, Del Toro’s final morning is expected to begin at approximately 5 a.m. Tuesday.
She will be awakened and allowed to shower before being prepared for the execution. At approximately 6 a.m., she is expected to receive her final meal. Officials have not disclosed whether Del Toro has made a specific meal request.
Shortly before 7 a.m., officers are expected to escort her from the death-watch area to Rockville’s execution chamber.
There she will be secured in the electric chair as the designated witnesses take their places. Members of the victims’ families are expected to attend.
Under the planned procedure described by prison officials, the state intends to administer three one-minute electrical cycles at approximately 2,300 volts, followed by a medical examination to determine whether death has occurred.
For Del Toro, the remaining question is whether anything will interrupt that timetable.
After nearly seven years under a death sentence, the legal filings, appeals and requests for executive intervention have narrowed to their final days.
Unless a stay is granted, Isabela Del Toro is scheduled to die Tuesday morning at Rockville Penitentiary.