Tiana Broadnax had never physically touched her husband until he lay dead on a gurney in a Huntsville, Texas prison. James Broadnax was pronounced dead after receiving a lethal injection on April 30. Tiana, who flew from London, watched through a glass screen for 40 minutes as the poison took his life.
“After he was pronounced dead, I got to touch him for the first time. But the prison chaplain told me not to touch him from the chest down, as the poison was still inside him,” she told Metro.
Background of the crime
James, 37, was sentenced to death for the deaths of two people during a robbery 18 years ago. He and his cousin Demarius Cummings attacked Stephen Swan and Matthew Butler in a parking lot. Initially, James claimed he was the shooter but later retracted. Demarius, who received life without parole, recently confessed to firing the shots. Additionally, all black jurors were dismissed during the trial.
A relationship born from letters
Tiana, a law student and mother of one from Lewisham, began writing to James in mid-2024 after learning about his case. She was corresponding with death row inmates in Texas for her master’s dissertation. “I had sworn to myself to not be one of those women who fell in love with a prisoner. But I soon found myself desperately waiting to hear from him,” she said.
By the end of 2024, they made their relationship official, with Tiana in London and James nearly 5,000 miles away in his cell, six hours behind. They never held hands, went out to dinner, or kissed. Despite this, Tiana says she has been left “broken” by his death.
Living under prison rules
Their relationship lasted about a year, consisting of six-hour phone calls, letters, and occasional prison visits. Phone calls automatically cut off after 30 minutes, though they could redial immediately. Tiana even found herself automatically lifting her arms at airport security, mimicking the posture required before entering a prison.
“In a way I was institutionalised too, because I had to live parts of my life around Texas prison rules,” she said. “Even now when I am on a long phone call I automatically check to see if we have nearly reached the 30 minute mark.”
Execution date set
In December, the couple learned James’s execution date was set for April 30. “I was sat in my lounge and I just remember screaming. But after that, it was just ‘right, we need to fight this’,” Tiana recalled.
They spent their remaining months appealing through limited outlets. They also managed to get married through the glass two weeks before James’s death. Tiana described the ceremony as “hard, but worth it for being allowed to spend 45 minutes together.”
The Supreme Court and parole board declined to grant a stay of execution. Governor Abbott’s office, which they saw as their most likely hope, also refused to help. “We got confirmation the governor’s office wasn’t going to help the day before James’s death,” Tiana said. “At that point, I just wanted to spend our last few hours together.”
The execution
On the day of execution, Tiana was taken to the viewing room as her husband was strapped to a gurney. Even in his final lucid moments, they were not allowed to be in the same room. After the injection, it took nearly 40 minutes for James to die.
“Watching it all sent me into a bit of a psychotic state,” Tiana said. “Officers tried walking me out of the prison, and I saw James standing with the death row protestors outside. I ran to him shouting, but one of the officers grabbed me and I realised I had hallucinated the whole thing.”
Life after execution
One week later, Tiana was back in London. She is unable to work or study full time and is focusing on her daughter. “I was James’s PA, advocate and therapist full time. I was looking after him and my daughter full time and getting about four hours of sleep a night. Now he is gone, the world feels a lot emptier,” she said.
Once emotionally recovered, Tiana plans to complete her master’s and advocate against the death penalty, especially as right-wing politicians push for its reinstatement. Almost half of university students polled supported bringing back capital punishment for serious crimes, and the new political party Restore Britain has voiced support for it.
“I actually messaged [party leader] Rupert Lowe, and told him of how utterly devastating it is. I emailed him and even messaged him on TikTok. Funnily enough, I haven’t heard back,” Tiana said.
