ITV is looking into the unique story of Linda Carty in a new one-off documentary, British Grandma on Death Row with Susanna Reid.
Fronted by the Good Morning Britain presenter, the film will explore the crimes for which Carty, the only British woman on death row in the Western world, was convicted.
“British woman Linda Carty has spent almost 20 years on death row,” Reid explained. “The court heard Linda orchestrated the kidnap of her pregnant neighbour, Joana Rodriguez, equipped with scrubs and scissors, as she intended to cut the baby out.
“Linda didn’t know that Joana had already had her baby four days earlier. Joana and her tiny baby boy were kidnapped and Joana was suffocated to death.”
As the doc airs on ITV this week, here’s everything you need to know about Linda Carty, including where she is now?
Who is Linda Carty?
Linda Carty, 63, is a Kittian American and former school teacher, who is on death row in Texas.
In February 2002, Carty – who holds British citizenship – was sentenced to death for the abduction and murder in 2001 of 25-year-old Joana Rodriguez in order to steal Rodriguez’s newborn son, Ray.
Carty claimed she was framed by drug dealers because she had previously been an informant.
Joana was kidnapped, suffocated to death and found in the boot of Linda’s car.
Prosecutors claim Linda was so desperate for a baby that she sought to kidnap Joana and keep baby Ray for herself.
Carty has claimed that she was framed by three men for her work as an informant with the Drug Enforcement Administration. Carty stated that “it was too difficult just to kill me, so they hatched this plot”.
The other co-defendants in the kidnapping and murder case were given prison terms but none received the death penalty after testifying against Carty.
Where is Linda Carty now?
Carty is currently being held at the Mountain View Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. This unit contains the state’s female death row.
She has been awaiting execution for 20 years. If executed, Carty would become the first female British national to be put to death since Ruth Ellis in 1955, and the first British Black woman executed in more than a century.
Despite the substantial evidence against her, Carty continues to plead her innocence and has never moved from her stance of “not guilty”.
In the one-off doc, which will air on ITV on Tuesday 22nd March at 9pm, Susanna Reid travels to Texas to meet Linda Carty.
With access to police custody footage of Linda and one of the key witnesses, Reid investigates the many twists and turns in this harrowing murder case.
Susanna Reid speaks to Linda’s daughter, Jovelle Joubert, who speaks candidly of the struggles of awaiting her mother’s execution on death row and states she would not attend the execution.
Lynn Hardaway, former Harris County Assistant District Attorney, recalls Linda’s conviction and says: “I don’t have any doubt she is guilty of this crime; all the evidence was consistent and had her as the ringleader and orchestrator of the whole offence.”
Barrister Hugh Southey QC has campaigned for Linda’s release for the last 10 years and cites a lack of DNA evidence linking the convicted grandmother to the crime.
British Grandma on Death Row airs on ITV on Tuesday 22nd March at 9pm. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide. Check out our Documentaries hub for all the latest news.
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