Photos: Georgia woman's path to death row

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Photos: Georgia woman's path to death row

970225 - GWINNETT COUNTY, GA. - copy of police photo showing Kelly R. Gissendaner.

040706 - ATLANTA, GA -- Kelly Gissendaner, the only woman on Georgia's death row, eats lunch in her 9-by-12 cell at Metro State Prison in Atlanta Tuesday, July 6, 2004. The shelving unit at right holds all her possessions. She's photographed through the slot in her cell door through which guards pass Gissendaner her lunch tray and other items throughout the day. (BITA HONARVAR/STAFF)

040706 - ATLANTA, GA -- Kelly Gissendaner, the only woman on Georgia's death row, peers through the slot in her cell door as a guard brings her a cup of ice Tuesday, July 6, 2004 at Metro State Prison in Atlanta. (BITA HONARVAR/AJC staff)

040706 - ATLANTA, GA -- Kelly Gissendaner, center, walks in handcuffs and with an escort of three CERT (Correctional Emergency Response Team) officers on her way to an activity therapy session at Metro State Prison in Atlanta Tuesday, July 6, 2004. Gissendaner is the only woman on Georgia's death row, and is escorted by at least two CERT officers every time she leaves her cell. (BITA HONARVAR/AJC staff)

040706 - ATLANTA, GA -- Kelly Gissendaner participates in an activity therapy session -- in this case, creative writing -- at Metro State Prison in Atlanta Tuesday, July 6, 2004. Gissendaner is the only woman on Georgia's death row. Different sessions that involve activities such as creative writing and card-playing help exercise Gissendaner's mind, and in this case, she was assigned to write an essay to use her imagination to write an essay on where she went this summer, even though she's been in prison for over six years. (BITA HONARVAR/AJC staff)

Kelly Gissendaner in a 2007 photo

981119 LAWRENCEVILLE, GA: Kelly Gissendaner listens to testimony in the sentencing part of the trial in the courtroom, 11/19/98. Gissendaner was convicted murdering her husband, Doug Gissendaner. Photo by RICHARD FOWLKES/AJC STAFF.

981118 LAWRENCEVILLE, GA: Kelly Gissendaner enters the courtroom after the lunch break, Nov. 18, 1998. Gissendaner is on trial for murder. Photo by RICHARD FOWLKES/AJC STAFF.

981113 - LAWRENCEVILLE, GA. - Kelly Gissendaner watching as the jury enters Judge Homer Stark's (cq) Courtroom at the Gwinnett Justice & Administration Center in Lawrenceville this morning, 11/13/98. She is accused of planning the murder of her husband, Doug Gissendaner, in February of 1997. (LOUIE FAVORITE/STAFF)

981118 LAWRENCEVILLE, GA: Kelly Gissendaner shown in court, 11/18/98, was found guilty of murder. Photo by RICHARD FOWLKES/AJC STAFF.

981113 - LAWRENCEVILLE, GA. - Kelly Gissendaner and one of her lawyers, Ed Wilson, during opening statements of her murder trial in Judge Homer Stark's Courtroom at the Gwinnett Justice & Administration Center in Lawrenceville this morning, 11/13/98. She is accused of planning the murder of her husband, Doug Gissendaner, in February of 1997. (LOUIE FAVORITE/STAFF)

970210 - GWINNETT COUNTY, GA. - Douglas Gissendaner, the 30-year-old Auburn man who disappeared and his 1984 Chevrolet Caprice was found burned on a dirt road during the weekend.

990225 - Doug Gissendaner. Kelly Gissendaner was convicted in 1998 of recruiting her lover to kill her husband, Doug Gissendaner, 30. Her boyfriend, Gregory Owen, testified against her as part of a plea bargain that landed him a life sentence but spared him from the death penalty.

981120 AUBURN, GA: The home that was owned by Doug and Kelly, 11/20/98. Prosecutors said Kelly Gissendaner, a mother of three from Auburn, wanted her husband dead so she could profit from two $10,000 life insurance policies and the couple's $84,000 house. Photo by RICHARD FOWLKES/AJC STAFF.

011213 LAWRENCEVILLE Sue Gissendaner of Buford holds a portrait of her son, Douglas Morgan Gissendaner as she stands with her husband Doug, daughter Kayla, 11, and son Cody, 8 during a candlelight vigil sponsored by the Gwinnett District Attorney's office Thursday night. The county plans to make it an annual event that encourages residents to remember victims of homicides and other crimes and show support for their families. State Sen. Billy Ray (R-Lawrenceville), I-85 whose father was murdered when Billy was age 13, was among speakers at the event. (KENT D. JOHNSON/staff)

000127 LAWRENCEVILLE, GA: Sue and Doug Gissendaner speak out about their feelings during a support group for families and friends of homicide victims at the Gwinnett County Justice Center. They are the family of a man, whose wife had him killed, she is now on death row. (CATHY SEITH/AJC STAFF)

990422 - LAWRENCEVILLE - Crime victim Sue Gissendaner hangs wreath for Victim's Rights Week. Sue Gissendaner, mother of murdered Doug Gissendaner, will hang homemade wreath at the DA's office. Shown in this photo taken on Thursday, April 22, 1999 is (l-r) Stan Hall (blue top/tie), Director of Victim Witness Programs, Danny Porter (black shirt), District Attorney, and Sue Gissendaner (red jacket/holding wreath) speak in the reception area of the District Attorney's office at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center in Lawrenceville. Sue Gissendaner is holding the wreath that will hang on the D.A.'s office door. PAM PROUTY/STAFF

Gissendaner executed: After several appeals, Kelly Gissendaner was executed after being convicted in the 1997 murder of her husband Doug.

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970225 - GWINNETT COUNTY, GA. - copy of police photo showing Kelly R. Gissendaner.

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