Clemency board to review decision as children plead for death row woman's life

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Clemency board to review decision as children plead for death row woman's life

http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/27/us/georgia-sets-execution/

Atlanta (CNN)Kayla Gissendaner was only 7 when her father was stabbed in the neck and back. She lost her best friend when he died, and as she grew up she grasped the shocking reality of her family: Her mother had arranged the gruesome murder.

Consumed with anger, Kayla stopped visiting her mom, Kelly Gissendaner, in prison. It crushed her to know that her own mother had taken away the father she adored.

But as time went by she yearned for answers. Six years ago, she finally sat down with her mother. It was the first time they talked about the murder. Those difficult conversations at a Georgia correctional facility began a healing process.

Now, 18 years after Douglas Gissendaner died, so, too, will Kelly Gissendaner, the first woman to be executed in Georgia in the last 70 years. And Kayla will be left without either parent.

On Monday, a judge denied a motion to stay the execution of Gissendaner. Thomas Thrash, chief judge of the Northern District of Georgia, also denied a restraining order to stop the execution. Gissendaner's attorney said she will appeal to the 11th Circuit.

However, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles announced Monday that it will meet at 11 a.m. Tuesday, hours before Gissendaner's execution time, to review a request to reconsider its previous decision to deny clemency. The board has several choices: It could let stand its February 26 decision, issue a stay of up to 90 days to further consider the case, or grant clemency and commute the sentence to life with or without the possibility of parole.