The federal appeals court in Atlanta on Tuesday upheld the capital sentence against the only woman on Georgia’s death row.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected all claims raised by Kelly Gissendaner, who talked her lover into killing her husband, Douglas Gissendaner, for insurance money. Gregory Bruce Owen, who testified in exchange for a life sentence, said he forced Gissendaner to a remote, wooded location before beating and stabbing him. Owen said he took Gissendaner’s watch and wedding ring to try and make the 1997 murder look like it was part of a robbery.

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. (center) is flanked by GOP whip Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo. (left) and Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, as Thune speak to reporters at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. Earlier Tuesday, the Senate passed the budget reconciliation package of President Donald Trump's signature bill of big tax breaks and spending cuts. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

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