An Albanian woman witnessed the execution of her husband in Huntsville, Texas, where a man convicted of a 2008 double murder was put to death by lethal injection.

Tiana Krasniqi watched from behind a glass partition as her husband, James Broadnax, 37, was executed after spending years on death row. According to witness accounts, she shouted “I love you” as the procedure began.

Broadnax had been sentenced to death for the fatal shooting of two men outside a music studio in the Dallas area. Prosecutors said he and an accomplice carried out a robbery that resulted in the deaths. His co-defendant received a life sentence without parole.

In the years leading up to his execution, Broadnax maintained that he was innocent. His legal team argued that key elements of the case were flawed, including the use of rap lyrics he had written, which they said were presented in a misleading way during the trial.

On the day of the execution, the U.S. Supreme Court declined a request to stay the sentence. A late submission from the defense included a statement from a relative claiming responsibility for the shootings, but it did not result in a delay.

Witnesses reported that Krasniqi leaned toward the glass during the execution and had to be assisted out of the viewing area afterward.

In a final statement, Broadnax apologised to the victims’ families while continuing to assert that he had not committed the crime.

He was pronounced dead shortly after the lethal injection was administered.