This undated file photo provided by McNeely Pigott & Fox Public Relations shows death row inmate Gaile Owens at the Tennessee Prison for Women in Nashville, Tenn. Gov. Phil Bredesen on Wednesday, July 14, 2010 commuted the death sentence of Owens, who was convicted of paying a man to kill her husband, meaning she could be released as soon as 2012. Owens, 58, has been on death row since 1986.(AP Photo/McNeely Pigott & Fox Public Relations, File)NASHVILLE - The Tennessee Board of Probation and Parole has voted to free former death row inmate Gaile Owens.
Department spokeswoman Melissa McDonald told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the board approved the release of the 58-year-old Owens, who was convicted in 1986 of hiring a man to kill her husband and sentenced to death.
Former Gov. Phil Bredesen commuted her sentence to life in prison last year after attorneys claimed Owens had suffered from serious physical and sexual abuse.
McDonald said Owens could be released within the next three weeks after administrative paperwork is completed.