A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a condemned Georgia woman who says an extended delay of her execution was cruel and unusual punishment, the Gwinnett Daily Post reported.
Kelly Renee Gissendaner was set to be executed in late February and early March for her role in the Feb. 7, 1997, death of her husband, Douglas Gissendaner. Officials delayed the March execution at the 11th hour after the drug to be used appeared to be cloud.
“The Plaintiff does not allege that the state officials were intending to inflict pain upon her,” the Gwinnett Daily Post quoted U.S. District Court Judge Thomas W. Thrash Jr. as writing in an order dismissing the lawsuit. “The Plaintiff appears to acknowledge that the incident was inadvertent; caused by unforeseen events.”
If executed, Gissendaner would be the first woman put to death in Georgia since 1945.