Tiana Krasniqi decided to marry James Broadnax despite him being on death row for murder, and has spoken about her decision.
Tiana Krasniqi decided to marry James Broadnax, even though he is on death row for murder, and has since explained her decision.
Broadnax, 37, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on April 30, just weeks after marrying Krasniqi, 31. He was sentenced to death for the 2008 shooting of two men when he was 19, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Since then, campaigns have been launched to stop his execution, pointing to new evidence, allegations of racism, and a statement from co-defendant Damarius Cummings, who claimed he was the only shooter.
However, earlier this month his appeal was rejected, and shortly before his scheduled execution, he and Krasniqi chose to marry.
“A very quick 20-minute ceremony”
Speaking on This Morning on April 13, Krasniqi described the ceremony.
“It’s pretty much the same behind glass again,” she said, according to Tyla. “Texas has a very strict rule about no contact with death row inmates. So, yeah, 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.”
The couple have never met outside prison but have reportedly spoken daily. They met while Krasniqi was studying racial disparities as part of her degree in international human rights law.
She said neither of them were initially seeking a relationship, but feelings developed “two or three months later.”
“We kind of realised that it was just more than a study, but it was never intentional,” she said, according to Tyla.
“He’s very intelligent, very well spoken, very respectful. He’s just your normal person … I know a lot of people would say, ‘You haven’t spent a day or a night with him,’ but you speak to somebody every single day for 6-7 hours a day, so you kind of go through the ups and downs.
“It’s just his personality and who he is as a person. Believe it or not, he does have a moral compass.”
Her family does not support the marriage
While the couple feel secure in their relationship, Krasniqi says her family does not support the marriage.
“No one’s happy. It’s not your typical, conventional relationship. There’s not any support, especially since being here,” she said.
“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.”
She believes her husband was “wrongfully convicted” and remains hopeful his execution will be stopped.
“Still have hope”
She alleges he had taken the “mind-altering” drug PCP before his confession, saying: “He pretty much took the blame for something he didn’t do.
“He acted in a way which showed he was under the influence.”
Krasniqi also referred to a “Batson violation case,” claiming jury selection bias.
“They had excluded all African American jurors from the case until the last minute, when the judge had said, ‘This is becoming a Batson violation, you need to add an African American in this jury pool as soon as possible,’ but they only added one,” she said.
“Also within that time, there was the questioning of the jurors. It wasn’t the most racially neutral question, but they say it was.”
If the execution goes ahead, she says she intends to be there.
“I think you still have hope because the evidence is so overwhelming that he didn’t commit the crime, and you’d hope that people do stand up and fight for somebody you know didn’t commit the crime,” she said.