Per an
earlier Daily Kos story this morning, Death Row inmate, Kelly Gissendaner was scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection at 7PM this evening. It's just been
reported by News11 in Jackson, Georgia, that Gissendaner will not be executed tonight. This is the second time her death has been postponed. Last week it was postponed due to severe weather. Gissendaner has been on Death Row for 17 years for the plotting of her husband's murder.
Officials at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison on Jackson said they were not satisfied with the quality of the drug to be used in the execution, calling it "cloudy." Out of an abundance of caution, officials said, they were postponing the execution.
This stay may have something to do with recent 'botched' executions. Last summer in Arizona, Joseph Wood received a
concoction of chemicals causing the ritual of his execution to be dragged out for two hours. But more importantly, the time that elapsed from his first injection until his actual time of death, was just short of a full hour. During that 58 minutes, Wood was seen 'gasping and snorting' for life.
If executed, Gissendaner will be the first woman in Georgia to given the death penalty in 70 years. Over 450 faith leaders have united in hopes of trying to save her life with their own petition.
There is also a public petition that has garnered over 65,000 more signatures in the last 24 hours. Here is that petition:
STOP MONDAY'S EXECUTION OF KELLY GISSENDANER
There no doubt Gissendale is guilty, even though she was not there during the murder. The question is more about whether one believes in the death penalty or not. As
Kossack Puddytat stated in the previous diary's comment thread:
Killing someone just to prove that murder is a terrible thing is just plain stupid. As a country, we need to abolish the death penalty.
Other questions arise. Can someone who plots a gruesome murder be rehabilitated, reformed, and actually help others? In Gissendnaner's case, many believe so.