British woman who married Death Row killer reveals what happened after his execution

A British woman has opened up about the moment she touched her husband for the first time after he was executed in Texas.

Tiana Broadnax, 31, from south-east London, married death row inmate James Broadnax just days before he was sentenced to death on 30 April.

The 37-year-old was executed for the 2008 murders of music producers Stephen Swan and Matthew Butler.

James and Tiana met through a prison pen-pal website in 2024, but they were never allowed physical contact during their relationship because James was held behind glass.

Around 40 minutes after his death, she was taken to a prison chapel where she saw his body.

Tiana said she initially forgot she could touch him because she was so used to the glass barrier.

Tiana Krasniqi, 31, said what she saw that day was 'horrendous' (ITV)

She kissed and hugged him for the first time and said his body was still warm.

"I had sworn to myself to not be one of those women who fell in love with a prisoner. Some women do go looking to find a man on death row, a husband on death row, for the thrill of it," the law graduate told The Mirror.

"But that's not what I was doing. I wanted to learn about James' case and then it just developed. We kept it private for the first year and a half. We only went public because of the execution date.

"I fell in love with him because he was kind and respectful. He was patient, he never raised his voice at me. He was just a loving and very well-educated, articulate man."

She touched her husband James Broadnax for the first time after he had died (ITV)

She also claimed she saw bruising on his neck and a nosebleed, leading her to believe the execution 'was not peaceful'.

The mother-of-one, who watched his death behind the glass, said: "I can't sleep at night. I've spent one night sleeping on the floor. I can be in the car and have flashback and I have to talk to myself out of it because I go back into that room watching James suffer.

"We were talking the whole time in that execution chamber. He groaned so loud and his head flipped back and his eyes rolled back, That's pain. I thought it was going to be peaceful, just like going to sleep. I saw him go blue. I saw his lips go blue. I saw his veins appear. I could see him struggling. That's not peaceful."

James’ case attracted attention due to claims of racial bias during his trial - there were 11 white jurors and one black juror.

There was also a last-minute confession from his cousin, who claimed responsibility for the 2008 killings. However, appeals to stop the execution were rejected.

Tiana, who is now back in London, keeps James’ ashes and personal belongings at home.