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Alabama executes man who killed ex-girlfriend despite objections from victim’s family

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  • Alabama executed a man Thursday night who was found guilty of killing his ex-girlfriend nearly three decades ago.
  • Joe Nathan James Jr. received a lethal injection.
  • The victim’s family opposed the execution and asked that he receive a life sentence.

Alabama executed a man on Thursday night who was found guilty of killing his ex-girlfriend nearly three decades ago, despite the fact that the victim’s family asked that his life be spared, according to  The Associated Press.

Joe Nathan James Jr. received a lethal injection at 6 pm CDT at a South Alabama prison. James was convicted and sentenced to death in 1994 for the shooting death of 26-year-old Faith Hall in Birmingham. Hall’s daughters have said they would prefer James to serve life in prison but Alabama Governor Kay Ivey said Wednesday that she planned to let the execution go ahead.

Alabama executed Joe Nathan James Jr. on Thursday

Joe Nathan James Jr.
Photo: AP

Prosecutors said James briefly dated Hall and became obsessed after she rejected him, stalking and harassing her for months before killing her. On Aug. 15, 1994, after Hall went shopping with a friend, James forced his way into his friend’s apartment, pulled a gun from his waistband and shot Hall three times, according to judicial 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 that a judge had wrongly admitted some police reports as evidence.

Victim’s family petitions

death penalty
Photo: Getty

James was retried and sentenced to death again in 1999, when the jury rejected defense claims that he was under emotional pressure at the time of the shooting. Hall’s two daughters, who were three and six when their mother was killed, had recently said they would prefer James to serve life in prison.

«I feel like we can’t play to be God. We can’t take a life. And it’s not going to bring my mom back,” one of the daughters, Terryln Hall, told The Associated Press in a recent phone interview. “We thought about it and prayed about it, and found it in ourselves to forgive him for what he did. We really wish there was something we can do to stop it,” Hall said, adding that the road to forgiveness was a long one.

“Brutal murder justified a death sentence”

Joe Nathan James Jr.
Photo: AP

«I hated it. And I know hate is such a strong feeling word, but I really had hate in my heart. As I’ve grown I realized you can’t walk around with hate in your heart. You still have to live. And once I had children of my own, you know, I can’t pass it on to my children and have them walk around with hate in their hearts,” she said.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall had urged Ivey to let the execution go ahead, writing that, «It is our obligation to ensure that justice is done for the people of Alabama. The jury in James’ case unanimously decided that his brutal murder of Faith Hall warranted a death sentence.» In response to a reporter’s question, Ivey said Wednesday that she would not intervene.

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