Credit: @tiana.broadnax/TikTok
Wife Of Death Row Inmate Shares Shocking Photos After Execution
The wife of a death row inmate has shared harrowing photos revealing the moments shortly after his execution in Texas.
Tiana Krasniqi shocked people all over the world when she revealed she was set to marry James Broadnax, a man convicted of killing two people during a robbery outside a music studio in Dallas in 2008.
Broadnax, who was just 19 years old at the time of the shootings, was handed the death penalty, while his cousin and co-accused Demarius Cummings was given life in prison without parole.
The 37-year-old always maintained that while he was part of the robbery, it was his cousin who pulled the trigger and murdered victims Matthew Butler and Stephen Swan.
Unlikely relationship between British woman and death row inmate
Their unconventional relationship began when Krasniqi got in touch with the death row inmate while studying for a master’s degree in international human rights law.
The 31-year-old, from Lewisham in southeast London, had chosen his case as part of her academic work, reportedly focusing on racial disparities in the justice system.
While their communications began purely on a research basis, it eventually became a relationship with traveling to Texas to meet Broadnax face-to-face, though they could only speak through a glass screen.
She has confessed their relationship is far from conventional, but from the moment she started speaking to her now-husband, she believed his innocence.
The law graduate, who has a nine-year-old child from a previous relationship, moved to Houston to be closer to Broadnax before his execution. That decision meant spending months away from her daughter, who remained in the UK with her father.
She said the separation was painful but insisted she and Broadnax had tried to shield her child from the most difficult parts of their relationship.
“I miss my daughter. I haven’t seen her in a month. I’m probably not going to see her for another two,” she said. “It is hard. But at the same time we are also protecting her.”
@tiana.broadnax What happened on the day of execution… THE REAL TRUTH
♬ original sound – Mrs Broadnax
Broadnax maintained his innocence until the end
Although Broadnax always admitted his part in the robbery, he has vehemently denied being the shooter, insisting it was his cousin who pulled the trigger.
Despite these claims, at the time of his trial, the prosecution replied on statements the then-teen made during jailhouse interviews, in which he told reporters: “I pulled the trigger.”
Broadnax later claimed the confession was false and said he’d been under the influence of drugs during the interviews.
According to Krasniqi, DNA samples taken from the crime scene did not match Broadnax with the gun or the victims, however there was a DNA match between both the gun and the victim’s clothing and Cummings, Broadnax’s cousin.
Cummings has since backed up his cousin’s claims, stating in a video recorded from prison: “I’m really gonna tell it like it’s supposed to be told, that it was me, that I was the killer. I shot Matthew Bullard, Steve Swan.”
The Texas Attorney General’s Office called the confession ‘questionable new evidence,’ and the courts did not halt the execution.
Krasniqi shares post from moments after Broadnax’s execution
Last month, Krasniqi and Broadnax tied the knot in a short 20-minute ceremony in prison, just weeks after spending his final moments with him, as he was executed by lethal injection.
Taking to her TikTok page, the British mum says she’s haunted by the memory of his final moments and keeps having flashbacks which cause her to have panic attacks.
Recalling the moment she arrived at the state penitentiary in Huntsville for the killing, she said she was hoping until the very last second that the governor would call off the execution.
“It’s an empty room and you have a massive window with red bars. I saw him strapped on the gurney and obviously his arms were out [wide]. On his right arm I saw the IV… I screamed, I dropped, I screamed,” she said.
“I screamed so loud… I was screaming ‘Open your eyes, open your eyes, I love you, I’m sorry, I was supposed to stop this’.”
Krasniqi has since shared photos following Broadnax’s death, when she was allowed to say goodbye in the funeral home. In one photo she can be seen holding his hand, and another photo shows her hugging him on the table.
Related Article: Death Row Inmate’s Final Words To Bride Before Her Tragic Sacrifice
Related Article: Death Row Inmate Suffered ‘Excruciating’ Execution After Making Last Meal ‘Mistake’
Want more stuff like this?
Get the best viral stories straight into your inbox!
