Attorney General Steve Marshall issued a statement Thursday night after the execution of Joe Nathan James, Jr. The execution took place at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama. Marshall cleared the execution to commence at 9:04 p.m. James’ time of death was 9:27 p.m.
James, 50, was convicted and sentenced to death in the 1994 shooting death of Faith Hall, 26, in Birmingham. Hall’s daughters, who were 3 and 6 at the time of the murder, have said they would rather James serve life in prison. Gov. Kay Ivey said Wednesday that she planned to let the execution proceed.
James had been acting as his own attorney in a bid to stop the execution. However, a lawyer filed the latest appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday. The request for a stay was rejected about 30 minutes before the execution was set to begin.
“Justice has been served,” Marshall stated. “Joe James was put to death for the heinous act he committed nearly three decades ago: the cold-blooded murder of an innocent young mother, Faith Hall.”
“In the years since, Joe James has tried to blame everything and everyone in an attempt to escape the consequences of his crime. He has claimed that his highly experienced trial counsel was “ineffective,” that his artful appellate counsel was “deficient,” and — in a demonstration of shocking cowardice and callousness — that his victim bore the blame for her own murder,” Marshall continued.
“Tonight, Joe James finally received his just punishment.”
The family issued a statement through state Rep. Juandalynn Givan’s office. “Today is a tragic day for our family. We are having to relive the hurt that this caused us many years ago. 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 statement read.
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