Who is Linda Carty – British grandmother sentenced to death for killing mother for stealing baby

Linda Carty is the only British woman awaiting execution in the United States.

The 63-year-old former schoolteacher has been sentenced to death for kidnapping and murdering a young mother to steal her newborn son.

If executed, she would be the first female British prisoner to have been killed since Ruth Ellis in 1955, but she claims to be innocent and has appealed her convictions.

The Carty, who was born on the island of Saint Kitts before gaining independence from the United Kingdom, retained her UK nationality and passport after moving to Houston at the age of 23.

In 1992, she was convicted of car theft and imitation by an FBI agent and sentenced to 10 years probation on the condition that she worked as a drug informant.

In the months leading up to the ill-fated crime, Carty told neighbors she would soon be a mother, but they told police they were surprised because she did not look pregnant.

During her trial, the court heard that the party had orchestrated the abduction of her pregnant neighbor, Joana Rodriguez, in May 2001.

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Joana was a young mother who gave birth to her baby, Ray, just two days before she was abducted by three men from her apartment in Houston, Texas.

At the time of the murder, Carty had been buying scrubs and scissors and it was alleged that her intention was to cut the unborn baby from Joana’s body.

However, the plan went awry because Joana gave birth to son Ray four days earlier, so they were both abducted.

Later that day, the baby was found alive in a car, but tragically, the 25-year-old mother’s lifeless body was discovered in the boat of a second car.

Joana’s legs and arms were tied with duct tape, along with her mouth and nose and she had a plastic bag choked over her head.

Police initially suspected Karty, who had also lied to her husband, claiming she was pregnant after interviewing neighbors who expressed surprise at her insistence that she soon have a child.

Carty was arrested along with Gerald Anderson, Chris Robinson, and Carlos Williams and charged with kidnapping and murdering Joana.

Carty claims she was charged with kidnapping and murder because she worked as a drug informant for the U.S. authorities.

She also claims she never met the three men who co-accused her, though phone records show there were nearly a dozen calls between her and Anderson on the night of the crime.

During her trial in February 2002, Carty’s co-accused laid the blame at her door, claiming she was the mastermind behind the whole twisted scheme.

The jury sentenced Anderson, Robinson and Williams to go to Joana’s home and abduct her and her baby Ray – and they received lengthy prison sentences.

Carty was convicted of murder and sentenced to death by lethal injection.

The grandmother made several appeals – they all failed – and now she fears that the only option left for her is what to do by lethal injection.

She is visited by her daughter, Jovelle, and teenage grandchildren, Jhori and Caden, but they are unable to move due to a thick glass section.

Mick Jagger’s ex-wife, Bianca Jagger, accepted Carty’s case and was supported by the human rights group Reprieve.

Carty’s case was also supported by the British Foreign Office and UK government lawyers opposed the case.

They expressed “grave concern for Mrs Carty’s human rights, the fair trial and access to justice”.

A UK official said: “We have been supporting Mrs Carty for a number of years, and will continue to do so.

“We have repeatedly expressed our interest in her case with the US authorities, and remain in close contact with her family and legal team.

“We are reviewing any request for an Amicus curiae briefly on its individual merits and after careful legal review, as we have done in this case.”

Carty’s time at the death penalty in the Mountain View Unit, a maximum security prison in Texas, was “horrible” and she described her cell as covered with mold with water over the walls.

Despite several appeals being launched, Carty remains on death row and in 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider what could be Carty’s final appeal.

She said: “The sad thing is that you will not get a chance if you execute someone, go back and dig them out of the grave and say ‘Oops, I made a mistake, let me just put you back together’. You’re done. You’re dead. “

The party is the subject of a new ITV documentary and was visited by GMB host Susanna Reid, who is still not sure if she committed the crime after spending time with her.

“I have found it impossible to reach a final verdict. She has been tried and found guilty by a jury and all her appeals have failed,” Susanna said.

“The justice system found her guilty. But I spoke to a British lawyer who looked into the case and listened to her American defense lawyer who was on death row before he took her case, and now says, ‘You can not per death penalty if you see the injustice in this case ‘.

“When you talk to those people about the controversial evidence, do you think in the end, is there more to it? Who was responsible for it?

“What actually happened that night? Was she an evil, evil person as one of her accomplices called her in the ringleader? Or was there an argument that meant she was held accountable? I do not think it’s a simple or convenient answer. “

Carty insisted she had nothing to do with the crime and her only mistake was to borrow her car.

“If I had been guilty of this crime, I would have taken my punishment,” she said. “Anyone who knows the system knows that Texas will not admit if they are wrong. I will fight to the end.

“When I lose my life, I know I have people behind me who will not stop until they delete my name.”

* British Grandma On Death Row with Susanna Reid is on ITV tonight at 9pm

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