British woman’s final three words to death row killer husband before he was executed

The British wife of a man on death row for murder said three final words before his execution.

James Broadnax, 37, received a lethal injection and died on Thursday (30 April) evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, some 70 miles north of Houston.

He was sentenced for the 2008 fatal shootings of two men outside a suburban Dallas music studio.

Prosecutors said Broadnax and his cousin, Demarius Cummings, fatally shot and robbed Stephen Swan and Matthew Butler.

Cummings was sentenced to life without parole.

In a final statement, Broadnax said: “I prayed to God for your forgiveness. Despite what you think about me, I hope to God that prayer was answered. But no matter what you think about me, Texas got it wrong. I'm innocent, the facts of my case should speak for itself. Period.”

Tiana Krasniqi married convicted death row murderer James Broadnax weeks before his execution (ITV)

Broadnax’s lawyers argued that Cummings had recently confessed to being the shooter, though Broadnax admits to taking part in the robbery. They also argued his constitutional rights were violated after jurors were excluded from his trial on the basis of race.

His wife, Tiana Krasniqi, 31, screamed ‘I love you’ during the execution. She is originally from Lewisham, southeast London.

Krasniqi, who married Broadnax just two weeks before he was executed, reportedly threw herself up to the death chamber window.

The couple married on 14 April in a ceremony at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit in Texas.

They met in 2024 after she began researching racial disparities across the US justice system as part of her Master’s degree in International Human Rights.

Krasniqi travelled to Texas to meet her future husband face-to-face for the first time. They spent 90 days with each other before tying the knot.

During an interview on This Morning earlier this month, she said the wedding was ‘not the most romantic’.

(Texas Department of Criminal Justice)

“It's behind glass. Texas has a very strict rule about no contact with death row inmates.

“It's a very quick 20-minute ceremony, you have an officiant, you say your vows and that's it and it's time to go.”

She revealed she had 'no support' from her loved ones, explaining: “Nobody is happy, it's not your typical, conventional relationship, there's not been any support.

“It's fine, I completely understand and I'm not going to hold any grudges, but at the same time, people have been to prison and come out and have become better people.

"If it happened, God willing, that he got to come out, I can imagine the same thing happening, and he could change his life as he plans to do.

"I haven't heard from anyone, which is fine. I completely understand. I'm not going to hold any grudges or anything from anybody ... Nobody's going to understand it."

• The US is reintroducing controversial death row execution method
• British grandma who's been on death row for 12 years is convinced she’ll escape execution
• Queen Elizabeth's final duty two days before her death as new details revealed
• Woman marries convicted death row murderer weeks before his execution