USA - Tennessee. Gaile Owens, whose death sentence was commuted last year, will be released on parole

Gaile Owens will be released on parole after the Tennessee Board of Probation and Parole voted today to free her after a quarter-century in prison. Owens, 58, white, had her death sentence commuted last year by then Gov. Phil Bredesen (see July 15, 2010). Owens was convicted in 1986 of hiring a man to kill her husband, Ron. Bredesen said he commuted the sentence because Owens once had a plea deal to avoid the death penalty that fell through when her co-defendant refused to plead guilty. Corrections Department spokeswoman Melissa McDonald told The Associated Press that Owens could be released within the next three weeks after paperwork is completed.