JACKSON, Ga. -- Kelly Gissendaner thought she was about to die. She thought she was about to become the first woman executed in Georgia in 70 years. In that moment, her message wasn't an apology to the family of the man she's accused of conspiring to kill; it was to her children and her lawyers.
"I just want to tell my kids that I love them and that I am proud of them, " she said in a taped statement.
The Georgia Department of Corrections gives death row inmates a chance to record any final thoughts on the night of their execution. 11Alive obtained that tape through an opens record request. Gissendaner's tape, including the introduction by an official with the Georgia Department of Corrections, lasts just 46 seconds.
"You keep strong and keep your heads up. I love you," she said. "I want to tell my lawyers thank you for all they've done. No matter what happens, I know you've done your best. "
The execution was postponed when officials said the phenobarbital, the drug that would be used to put her to death, appeared cloudy. It was the second time the death row inmate approached her final hours. The first attempt was scheduled for Feb. 25, but had to be postponed because of a winter storm.
Gissendaner was convicted and sentenced to death for conspiring with her then-boyfriend to murder her husband. The boyfriend, Greg Owen, testified against Gissendaner in exchange for a life sentence. In court, Owen said Gissendaner told him to stab and beat Doug to death in a remote area of Gwinnett County, and provided him with the kerosene he used to burn the victim's car.
After the second postponement, Doug Gissendaner's family released a brief statement:
Doug is the true victim of this premeditated and heinous crime. We, along with our friends and supporters and our faith, will continue fighting for Doug until he gets the justice he deserves no matter how long it takes.
In the days leading up to her planned execution, supporters gathered first at the state capitol, and again outside the prison in Jackson, pushing for a pardon. A group of clergy members say she's a changed woman.
Gissendaner's execution, along with all others planned in Georgia, are postponed indefinitely until a complete analysis of the drug is finished.
