Kelly Gissendaner was to be executed on Monday at 7 p.m.
Whether or not that will took place hinges on last-minute and last-ditch efforts of her attorneys who approached the U.S. Supreme Court in one last plea for her life.
Kelly Gissendaner was on death row for the 1997 plot to have her husband killed so that she could be with her lover and collect his insurance pay out.
The last thing that was reported was that lawyers were awaiting a response from the high court after an appellate court rejected her lawyers’ request for a delay on the grounds that Georgia’s lethal-injection procedures aren’t transparent enough to be challenged in court.
Kelly Gissendaner’s lawyers were also asking the court to consider the fact that she didn’t kill her husband herself, and that she had been thoroughly rehabilitated.
The response and decision was down to the wire, to the point that Kelly Gissendaner’s last meal request was already known. She wanted Burger King Whoppers with cheese (with everything), two large orders of fries, popcorn, cornbread, a side of buttermilk and a salad with tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, carrots, cheese, boiled eggs and Newman’s Own buttermilk dressing, a glass of lemonade and cherry-vanilla ice cream for dessert.
Kelly Gissendaner and her husband, Douglas had a troubled marriage full of fighting, breaking up, getting back together, fighting, etc. They even divorced and were remarried.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdlrb1QykBA
However, when Kelly Gissendaner decided she’d had enough, she recruited her boyfriend, Gregory Owen, to murder her husband so that she could be with him and get her husband’s insurance money.
The plan worked. Owen waited for Douglas at the couple’s home while Kelly Gissendaner went dancing with her friends. When Douglas returned home, Owen forced him at knife point into a car. They drove to some woods and Owen forced him to walk deep enough in so that he wouldn’t be found for a while, and there he stabbed Douglas multiple times.
Kelly Gissendaner met up with Owen later and the two set Douglas’ car on fire to hide evidence.
However, the story quickly fell apart during questioning and Owen implicated Kelly Gissendaner as the mastermind behind the plan.
Since her conviction and sentencing, Kelly Gissendaner has reportedly turned her life around, found faith, and has found favor in the eyes of correctional officers as a keeper of the peace.
A clemency petition for Kelly Gissendaner was created in the hope of giving her one last shot at life.
In the petition, prison chaplain Susan Bishop wrote, “The spiritual transformation and depth of faith that Ms. Gissendaner demonstrates and practices is a deep and sincere expression of a personal relationship with God. It is not a superficial religious experience.”
Some of Kelly Gissendaner’s children were also included in the petition.
“The impact of losing my mother would be devastating. I can’t fathom losing another parent,” wrote her daughter, Kayla Gissendaner.
She added, “My mom has touched so many lives. Executing her doesn’t bring justice or peace to me or to anyone.”
Time will tell whether or not the pleas from Kelly Gissendaner’s family and friends were enough to save her.