When Tiana Krasniqi first emailed a death row inmate in Texas in 2024, romance was the last thing on her mind. The 31-year-old Albanian woman was studying international human rights law and contacted James Broadnax as part of her academic research into racism and the death penalty.
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| Tiana Krasniqi, a thirty-one-year-old Albanian, in photos depicting her with James Broadnax, the man on Texas death row whom she married shortly before his execution. |
Broadnax, 37, had spent years on death row after being convicted of killing two men during a robbery two decades earlier. His case had long been surrounded by controversy, including questions over his confession, which was reportedly obtained while he was under the influence of drugs, and the exclusion of almost all Black prospective jurors by the prosecution.
What began as a formal academic conversation soon became a deeply personal relationship.
Tiana and James began speaking for hours every day, discussing his legal case as well as their childhoods and difficult experiences growing up.
“I was researching the impact of racism on the application of the death penalty and was pleased when James told me he was willing to speak to me. He was intelligent and thoughtful, so I couldn’t help but like him,” Tiana recalled.
Four months after their first conversation, James asked her to become his girlfriend.
Tiana booked a flight to Texas to meet him, leaving her nine-year-old daughter in Britain with her father.
Their first meeting was unlike any ordinary romantic date. They were separated by glass and could spend no more than four hours together.
“All the emotions and nerves disappeared as soon as I saw him for the first time. He was very handsome,” she said.
The couple shared sandwiches and pizza during their visit, each eating on their respective side of the glass.
But while their relationship was growing, Tiana was also digging deeper into James’s case.
While reviewing court documents, she says she discovered what she considered a crucial piece of evidence: James’s DNA had reportedly not been found on the victims or the murder weapon. Instead, DNA belonging to his cousin, Demarius Cummings, was reportedly found on the weapon and on one victim’s jeans.
The case took another dramatic turn when Cummings later accepted responsibility for the killings, claiming that he had planned and carried out the shootings.
Tiana contacted lawyers and began searching for ways to stop James’s execution.
“I knew the system was against us, but I promised I would keep fighting,” she said.
Then came the devastating news.
James’s lawyer called Tiana at her home in London to tell her that an execution date had been set. They had only four months left.
Determined to save him, she devoted her spare time to his case and launched a petition calling for the execution to be postponed. It attracted 88,000 signatures.
Cummings also signed a statement claiming that he, rather than James, had planned and carried out the shootings.
But the appeals failed.
With James’s execution approaching, the couple decided to get married.
Just two weeks before his scheduled execution, Tiana returned to the United States wearing a simple white wedding dress. The ceremony took place with James behind glass. They were not even allowed to kiss.
“It certainly wasn’t the wedding day I had imagined, and none of my family or friends were there, but I was determined that it would be a beautiful day,” she said.
Both cried as they exchanged their vows.
“I told him, ‘It’s not until death do us part, but until we meet again.’ Then we each kissed the glass.”
Two weeks later, James Broadnax was executed.
Tiana was forced to watch her newlywed husband die, but she says his execution did not end her fight.
Now grieving, the 31-year-old Albanian woman remains determined to investigate the case and clear James’s name.
“I never imagined I would fall in love with James, but I will never stop fighting to clear his name,” she said.