Tennessee Prison News
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A woman granted parole after spending decades on Tennessee's death row has been released from prison.
Gaile Owens walked out of the the Tennessee Prison for Women at 9:30 a.m. Friday after serving 25 years for hiring a stranger to kill her husband.
She was greeted by a small group of supporters outside the Nashville prison. One of her sons, Stephen Owens, was there as she left prison and she immediately hugged him. He was 11 when she went to prison.
"It will be a struggle for us all, and every day a new day. I would say that would be the biggest thing, looking forward to the days and her growing and us growing as a family," said Stephen.
Owens did not say anything as she was released, but released a statement thanking her supporters, family and Governor Phil Bredesen.
"I plan to volunteer. I feel a responsibility to give back to those who have given to me. But more than anything I look forward to being a mother and grandmother. I can't wait to see my grandchildren and fulfill my dream of walking in the park with my family," she said in the statement.
She ended the statement saying: "I know I have been a high-profile figure. But I hope today is the last day I will ever face the media or be in the public eye. Thank you for telling my story, but please let today be the final chapter."
Late last month, the Tennessee Board of Probation approved the release of 58-year old Owens after former Governor Phil Bredesen commuted her death sentence to life in prison last year.
She was convicted in 1986 of hiring a hitman to kill her husband, Ron Owens.
Owens supporters said her attorneys at the time botched the case, and it didn't help that Owens refused to testify. Owens allegedly had a plea deal but was put on trial anyway when her co-defendant refused to accept the arrangement.
She said she never wanted her kids to know the sexual and mental abuse she suffered at the hands of her own husband.
Her supporters argued had the jury known this information, it could have changed the death sentence in the first place.
(The Associated Press Contributed To This Report.)
September 7, 2011
Written by Brian Haas | The Tennessean
One member of the Tennessee Board of Probation and Parole voted Wednesday morning to release Gaile Owens from prison. She needs three more “yes’’ votes to be released on parole.
Owens, 58, was convicted in 1986 of hiring a man to kill her husband, who she later said had physically and sexually abused her. She was sentenced to death.
On July 14, 2010, just 77 days before she was scheduled to die by lethal injection, former Gov. Phil Bredesen commuted her sentence to life, making her eligible for parole.
“Words cannot express the remorse and regret that I have,’’ Owens said. She broke down in tears during the hearing.
Her son Stephen Owens also asked the board to release his mother. He said he was speaking as a victim of the crime and as her son.
“I want my mother to come home to her family,’’ Stephen Owens said. “I have two young sons who deserve the opportunity to meet their grandmother.’’
Wednesday’s hearing was Owens’ first parole hearing. Whether she will be released will be decided by the full panel at a later date. It could take two to four weeks for the other board members to make a decision. Board member Patsy Bruce was the only member in attendance for Wednesday's hearing and voted to release Owens.
Owens was convicted in the death of her husband, 37-year-old Ron Owens, who was found beaten to death Feb. 17, 1985, in their Shelby County home. Months prior, Gaile Owens had trolled the streets of Memphis, offering $5,000 to $10,000 to anyone willing to kill her husband.
After being duped out of thousands of dollars during her search, she struck upon a man willing to do the job: Sidney Porterfield, now 68. Porterfield struck Ron Owens 21 times with a tire iron, killing him.
Ahead of the trial, Gaile Owens’ attorneys had argued that she suffered from battered woman syndrome after being sexually and physically abused by her husband. But that argument – including evidence from a court-appointed psychiatrist who agreed – never made it into the trial because Gaile Owens didn’t want her children to hear those details.
She was convicted and sentenced to death, though a solid execution date wasn’t sent until last year.
The death sentence and the details about the possible abuse she suffered led to widespread support for her, including singer/songwriter Marshall Chapman, former Tennessean publisher and editor John Seigenthaler Sr., former Tennessee Titans Coach Jeff Fisher and major advocacy groups like the National Clearinghouse for the Defense of Battered Women, the Tennessee Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence and the Nashville YWCA.
Among the supporters was also one of the people who sentenced Gaile Owens to death: juror Fulya Sobczak. Sobczak said it was a mistake to sentence her to death upon hearing of possible abuse she suffered at her husband’s hands.
Contact Brian Haas at 615-726-8968 orbhaas@tennessean.com
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110907/NEWS03/110907017/Parole-board-member-votes-release-Gaile-Owens-3-more-votes-needed?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE
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