Georgia Officials Disregard Pope Francis’ Clemency Plea on Behalf of Death Row Inmate
Despite the pontiff's best efforts, he couldn't persuade a Georgia parole board to grant clemency for Kelly Gissendaner, a death row inmate due to be executed Tuesday evening.
Georgia death row inmate Kelly Gissendaner. (NBC News)
Despite Pope Francis’ best efforts, he couldn’t persuade a Georgia parole board to grant clemency for Kelly Gissendaner, a death row inmate due to be executed Tuesday evening.
ABC News detailed the pope’s attempt in a report posted Tuesday about Gissendaner’s case:
Kelly Gissendaner, who was convicted of orchestrating her husband’s murder almost 20 years ago, is scheduled to die by lethal injection at 7 p.m. tonight at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Parolees said today.
“After carefully considering the request for reconsideration, and meeting with Gissendaner’s representatives again today, the Board has voted to let the decision of February 25, 2015, denying clemency stand,” the board said in a statement. “Gissendaner was convicted of murder in 1998 for the February 1997 death of her husband, Douglas Gissendaner, and sentenced to death.”
The board had met in Atlanta earlier Tuesday to review Gissendaner’s case. The pope’s letter, which was signed by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, declared that “every life is sacred,” called for an emphasis on rehabilitation instead of execution and requested that those deciding Gissendaner’s fate settle on a sentence that “would better express both justice and mercy.”
–Posted by Kasia Anderson
WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...This year, the ground feels uncertain — facts are buried and those in power are working to keep them hidden. Now more than ever, independent journalism must go beneath the surface.
At Truthdig, we don’t just report what's happening — we investigate how and why. We follow the threads others leave behind and uncover the forces shaping our future.
Your tax-deductible donation fuels journalism that asks harder questions and digs where others won’t.
Don’t settle for surface-level coverage.
Unearth what matters. Help dig deeper.
Donate now.
Editorial Cartoons
TD Original
A sex scandal involving its most admired celebrity is shaking France to its core.
Film
“Sugarcane” tells the story of what kept a people together, despite a systematic effort to alienate them.
The papal dodge disappoints progressives and liberal Catholic women's groups while reassuring conservatives.
As voters prepare to choose a new parliament on Saturday, polls show surprising support for the party historically linked to the IRA.
Attorneys for about a dozen claimants allege hundreds of confidential emails show the New Orleans team was involved far more than it admits.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.