The 8th Execution of 2022
An Alabama inmate convicted of killing his former
girlfriend decades ago was executed on July 28, 2022 despite pleas from the
victim’s family to spare his life.
Joe Nathan James Jr. received a lethal injection at
a south Alabama prison after the U.S. Supreme Court denied his request for a
stay.
James was convicted and sentenced to death in the
1994 shooting death of Faith Hall, 26, in Birmingham. Hall’s daughters have
said they would rather James serve life in prison, but Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey
said Wednesday that she planned to let the execution proceed.
Prosecutors said James briefly dated Hall and he
became obsessed after she rejected him, stalking and harassing her for months
before killing her. On Aug. 15, 1994, after Hall had been out shopping with a
friend, James forced his way inside the friend’s apartment, pulled a gun from
his waistband and shot Hall three times, according to court documents.
A Jefferson County jury first convicted James of
capital murder in 1996 and voted to recommend the death penalty, which a judge
imposed. The conviction was overturned when a state appeals court ruled a judge
had wrongly admitted some police reports into evidence. James was retried and
again sentenced to death in 1999, when jurors rejected defense claims that he
was under emotional duress at the time of the shooting.
The execution began a few minutes after 9 p.m. CDT
following a nearly three-hour delay that the state did not immediately explain.
James did not open his eyes or any show visible movements before the execution
began. He did not move or speak when the warden asked if he had any final
words. His breathing slowed until it was not visible and he was pronounced dead
at 9:27 p.m.
Hall’s two daughters, who were 3 and 6 when their
mother was killed, had said recently that they would rather James serve life in
prison. The family members not attend the execution.
“Today is a
tragic day for our family. We are having to relive the hurt that this caused us
many years ago,” the statement issued through state Rep. Juandalynn Givan’s
office read. Givan was a friend of Hall’s.
“We hoped the state wouldn’t take a life simply
because a life was taken and we have forgiven Mr. Joe Nathan James Jr. for his
atrocities toward our family. … We pray that God allows us to find healing
after today and that one day our criminal justice system will listen to the
cries of families like ours even if it goes against what the state wishes,” the
family’s statement read.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said she would not intervene.
In a statement Thursday night, Ivey said she deeply considers the feelings of
the victim’s family and loved ones, but “must always fulfill our responsibility
to the law, to public safety and to justice.”
“Faith Hall, the victim of repetitive harassment,
serious threats and ultimately, cold-blooded murder, was taken from this earth
far too soon at the hands of Joe Nathan James, Jr. Now, after two convictions,
a unanimous jury decision and nearly three decades on death row, Mr. James has
been executed for capital murder, and justice has been served for Faith Hall.
She said the execution sends an,” unmistakable
message was sent that Alabama stands with victims of domestic violence.”
James acted as his own attorney in his bid to stop
his execution, mailing handwritten lawsuits and appeal notices to the courts
from death row. A lawyer filed the latest appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court on
his behalf Wednesday. But the request for a stay was rejected about 30 minutes
before the execution was set to begin.
James asked justices for a stay, noting the opposition
of Hall’s family and arguing that Alabama did not give inmates adequate notice
of their right to select an alternate execution method. He also argued that
Ivey’s refusal violates religious freedom laws because the Koran and the Bible
“place the concept of forgiveness paramount in this situation.”
The state argued that James waited too late to begin
trying to postpone his execution and “should not be rewarded for his
transparent attempt to game the system.”
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