NEW Guilty or innocent?
British grandmother Linda Carty has spent 20 years on death row. But has there been a miscarriage of justice?
Linda Carty is the only British woman on death row in America. She was sentenced to death by lethal injection for the 2001 abduction and murder of young mum Joana Rodriguez in order to kidnap Joana’s newborn son, Ray.
Baby Ray was later found alive and well, but Joana was tragically discovered suffocated in the back of Carty’s car.
Questions
As Susanna Reid travels to Texas to meet Carty for this special ITV documentary, she discovers there are questions surrounding Carty’s guilt.
‘This is a tough case with so many inconsistencies,’ says Susanna. ‘At its heart is a young mother who died in horrific circumstances. But was she murdered by Linda Carty?’
At Carty’s trial in 2002, the court heard how three men, including known criminal Chris Robinson, burst into Joana’s apartment looking for drugs, and abducted Joana and her four-day-old son, Ray.
Robinson swore that Carty was the mastermind behind the crime and she wanted Ray kidnapped because she was desperate for a baby of her own.
Speaking out
But Carty has always insisted she simply lent Robinson and his gang her car and knew nothing of the crime. There was no forensic evidence tying Carty to the case and Robinson later admitted at a hearing that he’d lied multiple times.
So, as her execution looms, is Carty innocent or guilty? ‘I had nothing to do with that crime,’ she assures Susanna. ‘Chris Robinson set me up. He framed me to cover what he did. I’ll fight to the end, and if I lose my life, I know I have people who will not stop until they clear my name!’
BRITISH GRANDMA ON DEATH ROW WITH SUSANNA REID Tuesday, 9pm, ITV Factual