US woman executed in Georgia, despite papal appeal: official

Washington: Its first girl was executed by the US state of Georgia by Pope Francis early Wednesday in 70 years, despite an appeal for clemency by Pope Francis.

Before she was put to death by lethal injection following a flurry of last minute appeals, Kelly Gissendaner, 47, made a statement and requested a prayer.

She was the very first girl to be executed in the southern state since 1945, as well as the 16th national because the Supreme Court re established the death penalty.

Gissendaner was sentenced to death after being found guilty of conspiring to kill her husband in 1997.

Her execution initially was scheduled for 7 pm Tuesday (2300 GMT), but was delayed as her attorneys sought an 11th hour reprieve in filings before a federal court of appeals, the Georgia supreme court as well as the US Supreme Court, to no avail.

“Please be assured of my prayers as you contemplate this request by Pope Francis for what I believe would be a just act of clemency,” the Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano wrote.