It is not very common for women to be put on death row. But that’s exactly where Georgia native Kelly Gissendaner spent the last 18 years of her life, until her execution by lethal injection on September 30. The 47 year old Gissendaner was the first woman executed in the state of Georgia in 70 years.

According to Cnn.com, Gissendaner was convicted of murder for persuading her lover to kill her husband, Doug Gissendaner, in 1997. Gregory Owen, Gissendaner’s lover, is currently serving a life sentence: he is eligible for parole in eight years. At the time of trial, Owen accepted a plea bargain which Gissendaner’s lawyers turned down.

Ms. Gissendaner’s three children tried to save their mother’s life, but according to the Guardian.com, “Last-minute appeals from Gissendaner’s lawyers to the 11th US circuit court of appeals and the US supreme court as well as the Georgia board of pardons and paroles all failed.”

Over 85,000 people signed a petition urging Georgia Governor Nathan Deal to halt Gissendaner’s execution, claiming that the mother of three had turned her life around and called her a “powerful voice for good.”

Kelly was executed early Wednesday morning. It was the first time the state used a three-drug cocktail to kill someone on death row.