Despite the victim's family's pleadings, an Alabama inmate convicted of killing his former fiancée decades ago was killed Thursday night.
Joe Nathan James Jr. was given a fatal injection at a jail in south Alabama after the US Supreme Court dismissed his appeal for a stay of execution. James was found guilty and condemned to death in the shooting murder of Faith Hall, 26, in Birmingham in 1994.
Alabama Executes Joe Nathan James, Jr.
Hall's children have stated that they would like James to serve life in prison, but Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey stated on Wednesday that the execution will go forward.
According to prosecutors, James briefly dated Hall and grew obsessed when she rejected him, pursuing and tormenting her for months before murdering her. According to court filings, on Aug. 15, 1994, after Hall had gone shopping with a friend, James pushed his way into the friend's apartment, grabbed a revolver from his belt, and shot Hall three times.
In 1996, a Jefferson County jury convicted James of capital murder and decided to recommend the death penalty, which was imposed by a judge. A state appeals court reversed the conviction after ruling that a judge had improperly entered several police reports into evidence. When juries rejected defense arguments that James was under emotional stress at the time of the shooting, he was retried and condemned to death in 1999.
Following a nearly three-hour delay that the state would not immediately explain, the execution began a few minutes after 9 p.m. CDT. Before the execution, James did not open his eyes or make any obvious gestures. When the warden asked whether he had any final remarks, he did not move or speak. His respiration dropped to the point that it was no longer apparent, and he was pronounced dead at 9:27 pm.
Hall's two girls, who were three and six years old at the time of their mother's death, have said that they would want James to serve life in jail. The execution was not attended by family members, according to the New York Post.
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Joe James Jr. Left Notes in Jail Before Execution
Akay Ivey, the governor of Alabama, has stated that she will not interfere. Ivey said in a statement Thursday night that she understands the victim's family and loved ones' pain, but that she "must always fulfill our commitment to the law, to public safety, and justice."
According to him, the execution sends an unmistakable statement that Alabama stands with victims of domestic abuse. James worked as his counsel in his quest to halt his execution, submitting handwritten papers and appeal notifications to the courts from death row.
On his behalf, a lawyer filed the latest appeal with the United States Supreme Court on Wednesday. However, the plea for a stay of execution was denied just 30 minutes before the execution was scheduled to occur, USA Today reported.
As said by Alabama Department of Corrections Public Information Officer Kelly Betts, James did not receive visitors on Wednesday. However, he did talk over the phone with his mother and attorney James Ransom.
He is said to have eaten both lunch and dinner. James reportedly refused his meal of grits, eggs, apple jelly, biscuits, orange juice, and bread hours before his death.
On Thursday, he allegedly ate lunch but declined dinner. There were no final meal requests from James. On Thursday, he got more phone calls and spoke with Ransom and two other lawyers.
According to The Sun, there was a two-hour wait before the execution. Inmates hung messages in the windows, as reported by media observers waiting in a vehicle outside the facility. Alabama Representative Juandalynn Givan stated on behalf of Hall's family hours before the execution.
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