The Latest on execution: Georgia executes woman convicted in husband’s death

ATLANTA – The latest on the scheduled execution of the only woman on Georgia’s death row. All times local:

12:30 a.m.

Georgia has executed its only female death row inmate.

Kelly Renee Gissendaner was pronounced dead at 12:21 a.m. Wednesday at the state prison in Jackson.

Gissendaner was convicted of murder in the February 1997 slaying of her husband. Prosecutors said she plotted with her boyfriend, Gregory Owen, to kill her husband. She was the first woman to be executed in Georgia since 1945.

Owen, who stabbed Douglas Gissendaner to death, pleaded guilty and testified against Kelly Gissendaner. He’s serving life in prison and becomes eligible for parole in 2022.

Gissendaner was originally set for execution on Feb. 25, but that was delayed because of winter weather. It was reset for March 2, but corrections officials postponed that execution “out of an abundance of caution” because the execution drug appeared “cloudy.”

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11:35 p.m.

The United States Supreme Court has denied a third appeal for Kelly Renee Gissendaner.

Gissendaner, the states only woman on death row, was scheduled to be put to death at 7 p.m. on Tuesday but her lawyers filed a flurry of appeals with the high courts of both Georgia and the U.S.

The 47-year-old was convicted of murder in the February 1997 slaying of her husband. She conspired with her lover, who stabbed Douglas Gissendaner to death.

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11:00 p.m.

In yet another attempt to keep their client alive, lawyers for Kelly Renee Gissendaner have filed yet another stay of execution with the United States Supreme Court.

In the latest filing Gissendaner’s lawyers ask, “Have societal standards of decency evolved to the point that the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments now prohibit the execution of a capital defendant who did not physically participate in the murder of her victim?”

The 47-year-old was convicted of murder in the February 1997 slaying of her husband. She conspired with her lover, who stabbed Douglas Gissendaner to death.

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10:45 p.m.

The woman scheduled to be executed Tuesday evening for killing her husband has had another stay of execution denied by the United States Supreme Court.

In the filing Kelly Renee Gissendaner’s lawyers questioned whether the method at which she will be put to death is safe.

According to the filing: “During respondents’ previous attempt to execute petitioner, their compounded lethal injection drugs proved defective and unsafe for use. Does respondents’ decision to again attempt to execute Ms. Gissendaner using the same method…..”?

The 47-year-old was convicted of murder in the February 1997 slaying of her husband. She conspired with her lover, who stabbed Douglas Gissendaner to death.

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9:10 p.m.

The Supreme Court of Georgia has denied a stay of execution for Kelly Renee Gissendaner, the lone woman on the state’s death row.

Gissendaner’s execution was scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday.

The 47-year-old was convicted of murder in the February 1997 slaying of her husband. She conspired with her lover, who stabbed Douglas Gissendaner to death.

The United States Supreme Court denied Gissendaner’s application for a stay of execution Tuesday night and the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles declined Gissendaner clemency earlier on Tuesday.

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8:25 p.m.

The United States Supreme Court has denied an application for a stay of execution for the lone woman on Georgia’s death row.

The execution of Kelly Renee Gissendaner was scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday.

The 47-year-old was convicted of murder in the February 1997 slaying of her husband. She conspired with her lover, who stabbed Douglas Gissendaner to death.

The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles declined Gissendaner clemency earlier on Tuesday.

Gissendaner is still awaiting a decision from the state Supreme Court in Georgia.

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2:35 p.m.

The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles has declined clemency for the lone woman on the state’s death row.

The execution of Kelly Renee Gissendaner is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday.

The 47-year-old was convicted of murder in the February 1997 slaying of her husband. She conspired with her lover, who stabbed Douglas Gissendaner to death.

The parole board’s members reviewed a second request from Gissendaner’s lawyers to reconsider their February decision denying clemency. They held a meeting Tuesday morning to gather additional information from Gissendaner supporters.

The board released a statement saying it was standing by its February decision denying clemency and did not give any reason.

Gissendaner still has legal challenges pending before the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court.

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2:25 p.m.

Pope Francis’ diplomatic representative to the U.S. is urging the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles to spare the life of a Georgia woman set to be executed Tuesday.

Kelly Gissendaner is scheduled to die by injection of pentobarbital at 7 p.m. at the state prison in Jackson. The 47-year-old was convicted of murder in the February 1997 slaying of her husband. She conspired with her lover, who stabbed Douglas Gissendaner to death.

Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano wrote a letter Tuesday saying he was writing on behalf of Pope Francis. He cited an address the pope gave before a joint session of Congress last week during which the pontiff called for the abolition of the death penalty.

The parole board is the only entity authorized to commute a death sentence in Georgia.

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9:15 a.m.

The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles plans to meet to consider new information in support of clemency for the lone woman on the state’s death row.

Kelly Renee Gissendaner is set for execution Tuesday at 7 p.m. The 47-year-old was convicted of murder in the February 1997 slaying of her husband. She conspired with her lover, who stabbed Douglas Gissendaner to death.

A parole board statement said the board’s members have reviewed a second request from Gissendaner’s lawyers to reconsider their February decision denying clemency. The release says they’re holding a meeting at 11 a.m. to gather additional information from Gissendaner supporters.

Two of Gissendaner’s three children previously addressed the board. A lawyer for Gissendaner said her oldest son now wants to ask the board to spare her life.

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