A British grandmother sentenced to death for killing her neighbor while trying to steal her baby in Texas insists she “has nothing to do with this crime” in a new ITV documentary hosted by Susanna Reid.
Linda Carty, 63, has been awaiting execution for 20 years after being convicted of conspiring with three men to kill her young mother, Joana Rodriguez, and steal the victim’s newborn son, Ray.
Neighbor Joana, 25, was abducted from her Houston apartment with her four-day-old son in 2001, drowned, and found in the trunk of Carty’s car.
Originally from St Kitts and Nevis – British soil when she was born, Carty appears tonight on England’s grandmother’s death row with Susanna Reid, which airs at 9pm on ITV.
Asked by the host, “If you weren’t in charge, then how did it go? [it] Will it happen?” Carty tearfully replies: “I’m not sure because I wasn’t there.
“But I can honestly say that and honestly look you in the eye and say I had nothing to do with this crime.”
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Linda Carty (pictured), 63, has been awaiting execution for 20 years after being convicted of planning to murder her young mother, Joana Rodriguez, and steal the victim’s newborn son, Ray, with three men.
Originally from St Kitts and Nevis (pictured left), Carty, born British Territory, appears tonight on death row at England’s grandmother alongside Susanna Reid (pictured right), airing on ITV at 9 PM
25-year-old neighbor Joana (pictured) was abducted from her Houston apartment in 2001 with her four-day-old son, drowned, and found in the trunk of Carty’s car.
The court heard that Linda’s pregnant neighbor, Joana Rodriguez, had arranged for the kidnapping of her, wearing a dress and scissors, as she intended to cut the baby.
“Linda didn’t know that Joana gave birth four days ago. Joana and her young son were abducted and Joana drowned,” Susanna said on the show.
The landlord travels to Texas to meet Carty, who continues to plead innocent and never deviates from his “not guilty” position despite the substantial evidence against him.
Prosecutors say Carty is so desperate for a child that he wants to kidnap Joana and keep baby Ray for himself.
But the documentary states that there are many questions about the validity of the witnesses who testified against Carty during his trial, as their stories have changed since Carty’s trial.
But despite various objections, Carty remains behind bars awaiting the death penalty.
With access to Carty police footage and one of the key witnesses, Susanna investigates the heartbreaking murder case.
Asked by the host, “If you weren’t in charge, then how did it go? [it] happening?” a crying Carty (pictured before his incarceration) replies: “I’m not sure because I wasn’t there”
Speak to Carty’s daughter, Jovelle Joubert, who speaks candidly about her struggle to await her mother’s execution and admits that she will not witness her mother’s execution.
Lynn Hardaway, former assistant district attorney for Harris County, describes Carty’s conviction: “I have no doubt that he is guilty of this crime; All the evidence was consistent and he saw him as the leader and organizer of all crime.”
QC’s Attorney Hugh Southey has campaigned for Carty’s release for the past ten years, alleging that the convicted grandmother did not have adequate and quality representation in the murder trial.
At the time of the trial, Carty, who has lived in Houston for nearly 20 years, recruited three men to kidnap Joana and her newborn son, Ray Cabrera, in hopes of saving her relationship with her regular husband by dying. like the child himself. She had miscarried several times before.
Carty, a former elementary school teacher, was found guilty under the Texas “Parties Act”, which requires that a person be found guilty if he incites, encourages, directs, aids, or attempts to help another to commit a crime. .
Carty (pictured) pleads not guilty and claims he was convicted largely at the word of his co-defendant.
He claims his innocence and claims he was convicted largely at the word of his other defendant.
Joana and Ray were abducted from their Houston apartment on May 16, 2001.
The baby was found unharmed in a car the same day, but his mother… He was found dead in a car that Miss Carty had rented with his mouth gagged and a plastic bag placed over his head.
Gerald Anderson, Chris Robinson, and Carlos Williams were charged with Carty’s accomplices and served long prison terms. Carty was sentenced to death.
Carty spoke to Sky News from behind jail bars in Huntsville, Texas in 2012, claiming he was “110 percent innocent”.
During the interview, she claimed she had been charged with the crime and said she felt sorry for the victim’s family.
He said: ‘She’s somebody’s daughter and she’s somebody’s daughter. So for me, this is not just a healing process for me, it also shows families that you think the person you hated for all these years did this and told you why the state of Texas did it, you didn’t commit this crime. . ‘
No execution date yet. The last British woman executed was Ruth Ellis in 1955. She was hanged for shooting her boyfriend outside a bar in North London.
Source: Daily Mail
