British grandmother in appeal to escape death row
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A British grandmother is to stage an 11th-hour appeal against her execution in Texas as her lawyers tell judges today that she has been the victim of a gross miscarriage of justice.
Linda Carty, 51, was convicted and sentenced to die by lethal injection for the murder of Joana Rodriguez in 2001. Three men broke into Ms Rodriguez's apartment in Houston, assaulting her partner and demanding drugs and cash before abducted Ms Rodriguez and her four-day-old son. The baby was found unharmed in the back seat of a car, but Ms Rodriguez suffocated after being locked in the boot. Ms Carty's legal team claim she was convicted following a flawed trial in Texas after it was alleged that she ordered the kidnapping. Reprieve, the human rights charity representing Ms Carty, alleges that her trial lawyer failed to properly put the case for the defence.
Reprieve's director Clive Stafford Smith said: "Linda's legal representation at trial was appalling, and she would not be on death row today if she had received an adequate defence."
He added that only last week a US judge made it clear that someone who is innocent can be executed, so long as it can be shown they had a "fair" trial.
"Linda is dangerously close to the execution chamber, and the British Government needs to do everything in its power to save Linda's life," he said.
If Ms Carty is unsuccessful in her appeal, her case is expected to be handed back to the Governor of Texas. Since he succeeded George Bush as Governor nine years ago, Rick Perry has only granted clemency to one death row inmate: Kenneth Foster in 2007.
Linda Carty was born on the Caribbean island of St Kitts to Anguillan parents and holds a UK dependant territory passport. She worked as a primary school teacher in St Kitts until she was 23.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments