State board votes to grant parole to Gaile Owens - WSMV Channel 4 Gaile Owens, convicted of accessory to first-degree murder and sentenced to death for killing her husband in 1985 in Shelby County, has been granted parole after a hearing earlier this month. 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. WOW! How wonderful.Ever since the Mary Winkle verdict I have been stewing about how long Gaile has been locked up. She has more than paid for her crime.