UPDATED 10:10 p.m. PT
A Georgia prisoner was executed early Wednesday morning local time in Jackson, Georgia, despite a bid for clemency from Pope Francis during his visit to the United States last week.
Kelly Gissendaner, 47, was pronounced dead at 12:21 a.m. after a series of unsuccessful last-minute appeals to the high courts of Georgia and the U.S. Supreme Court. She is the first female put to death in the state of Georgia since Lena Baker in 1945. The bid for clemency was denied by the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Parolees.
Pope Francis made his appeal via a letter from Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States. The letter called back to the pope's speech to Congress and asked for a different sentence for Gissendaner, one that "would better express both justice and mercy."
"Please be assured of my prayers as you consider this request by Pope Francis for what I believe would be a just act of clemency," the letter added.
Gissendaner was previously scheduled for execution by lethal injection on Feb. 25, 2015, which was delayed due to a threat of winter weather. Her execution was reset for a week later, on March 2, 2015, but corrections officials postponed it "out of an abundance of caution," as the execution drug appeared "cloudy."
A later investigation found there was nothing wrong with the drug, Pentobarbital.
Despite the high-level request from the pope, the board voted to let their original decision to deny clemency stand -- the decision made on Gissendaner's original execution date in February.
.@GA_Paroleboard denies clemency to #KellyGissendaner despite @Pontifex plea. Execution set for 7pm tonight. #KellyOnMyMind #DeathPenalty— AmnestyInternational (@amnesty) September 29, 2015
Gissendaner's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was denied in 2014. Her lawsuit in August 2015, alleging that the two scheduled-then-canceled executions violated her constitutional protection from cruel and unusual punishment, was also dismissed. Clemency is considered a privilege, not a right. The U.S. Supreme Court denied her third appeal about an hour before she was executed.
For those keeping up w/ #KellyGissendaner case: Some states, like Okla, use a 3-drug protocol for lethal injection; Georgia uses only 1drug— Kim Bellware (@bellwak) March 3, 2015
Gissendaner was convicted in the February 1997 murder of her husband, Douglas Gissendaner. At the time of the murder, she was having an affair with Gregory Owen, whom she pushed to kill her husband. On Feb. 7, 1997, while Kelly was out with friends, Owen ambushed Douglas Gissendaner at the couple's home and forced him to drive to a remote area where he struck Douglas on the head, forcing him to his knees, and then stabbed him multiple times.
Owen initially denied involvement but eventually confessed and implicated Gissendaner. He is currently serving a life sentence and is eligible for parole in 2022.
Gissendaner has also found allies in her own children who, in the years since the murder of their father, seemingly came to forgive their mother for her role in Douglas' death. Two of her children released a video of an emotional plea earlier in September.
On Tuesday evening, crowds gathered outside the prison as they awaited Gissendaner's execution amid a flurry of last-minute legal maneuvers.
Prayer circle at hour of scheduled execution of Kelly Giasendaner #fox5atl# pic.twitter.com/ibUsUImP6I— George (@gfrancofox5news) September 29, 2015
Protestors sing for Kelly Gissendaner, the only woman on Georgia's death row. She is scheduled to be executed tonight pic.twitter.com/dmpJFMabqV— Carl Willis (@CarlWillisWSB) September 29, 2015
A rainbow outside the prison as Kelly Gissendaner is set to be executed tonight. #WSBTV pic.twitter.com/okLBQmgxRZ— Justin WSB (@WSBTVCameraMan) September 29, 2015
A judge refused to halt the execution based on claims that prison guards and other administration officials were not allowed to testify on Gissendaner's behalf during her clemency hearing. But the same judge did allow for an appeal to Georgia's state Supreme Court, which was later denied.
There's no chance Kelly Gissendaner's execution occurs on time, if it does tonight. Appeals just being filed in state Supreme Court.— Bill Rankin (@ajccourts) September 29, 2015
Additional reporting by the Associated Press.
UPDATES
--7:25 p.m. PT with the latest from the last-minute appeals process.