ATLANTA (AP) The only woman on Georgia's death row is set to be executed Monday.
Kelly Renee Gissendaner, 46, from Barrow County, is set to die at 7 p.m. at the state prison in Jackson. She was originally set to be executed last Wednesday, but the Department of Corrections postponed her execution because of projected winter weather conditions and associated scheduling issues.
Gissendaner was convicted of murder in the February 1997 stabbing death of her husband. Prosecutors said she plotted his death with her boyfriend, Gregory Owen.
Owen pleaded guilty and is serving a life prison sentence.
Meanwhile, an online petition has been signed by nearly 38,000 people (number as of 5 a.m. Monday) asking Gov. Nathan Deal to stop the execution. The petition claims Gissendaner has been reformed in prison and "she has been a pastoral presence to many, teaching, preaching, and living a life of purpose." Gissendaner has been incarcerated at Lee Arrendale Prison in Alto.
If Gissendaner's execution happens, she will be the first woman executed in Georgia since 1945 and only the 16th woman put to death nationwide since the Supreme Court in 1976 allowed the death penalty to resume.
AccessNorthGA.com's B.J. Williams contributed to this story.
Tuesday
November 5th, 2024
2:47AM
