The scheduled execution of convicted murderer Kelly Renee Gissendaner on Monday was postponed after authorities noticed some issues with the lethal injection drug.

Georgia immediately called off what would have been its first execution of a woman in 70 years late Monday after officials had to call a pharmacist to check the pentobarbital drug that would have been used to execute Gissendaner.

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The lethal injection drug appeared cloudy, officials said.

Georgia Department of Corrections did not give a new date for the execution of Gissendaner, who had been scheduled to die at 7 p.m. local time in the state prison.

Gissendaner was convicted for her role in the February 1997 murder of her husband, Douglas Gissendaner.

The courts ruled that Gissendaner plotted the stabbing death of her husband by her boyfriend, Gregory Owen.

Owen is up for parole in eight years after he agreed to testify against Gissendaner in exchange of a life sentence.

Gissendaner was 28-years-old, mother of three children, when the crime was committed. She and her husband had a troubled relationship, splitting several times, divorcing and then marrying again.

On Monday, while more than a dozen women who served time with Gissendaner gathered outside the prison to show support, Gissendaner would have been the 16th woman executed nationwide since the death penalty resumed in 1976.

Her lawyer had earlier requested for mercy by bestowing her sentence to life without parole. The lawyer insisted that Gissendaner had been reformed and thoroughly rehabilitated.

However, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles upheld the decision to execute Gissendaner late Monday.

Two of the woman's children had also asked the board to spare the life of their mother.

"The impact of losing my mother would be devastating. I can't fathom losing another parent," wrote her daughter, Kayla Gissendaner. "My mom has touched so many lives. Executing her doesn't bring justice or peace to me or to anyone." 

TagsKelly Renee Gissendaner, Georgia death row, Georgia execution