UPDATE: Alabama man convicted in 1994 murder executed by lethal injection
An Alabama death row inmate is scheduled to be put to death Thursday night. Joe Nathan James Jr., who was convicted of a 1994 murder, is set to die by lethal injection at 6 p.m.
Faith Hall was shot three times and killed in Birmingham on Aug. 15, 1994. The victim was James' ex-girlfriend and prosecutors said he killed her after becoming obsessed with her and stalking her for months. He was convicted of capital murder in 1996. After an appeal overturned the conviction, James was retried and found guilty again in 1999.
Hall's family has been fighting to change the death sentence to a life sentence.
“I just feel like we can’t play God. We can’t take a life. And it’s not going to bring my mom back,” one of her daughters, Terryln Hall, told The Associated Press in a recent telephone interview.
“We thought about it and prayed about it, and we found it in ourselves to forgive him for what he did. We really wish there was something that we could do to stop it,” Hall had said, adding the road to forgiveness was long.
“I did hate him. I did. And I know hate is such a strong feeling word, but I really did have hate in my heart. As I got older and realized, you can’t walk around with hate in your heart. You still got to live. And once I had kids of my own, you know, I can’t pass it down to my kids and have them walk around with hate in their hearts,” she said.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said she would allow the execution to go forward despite the plea from the victim's family members.
“My staff and I have researched all the records and all the facts and there’s no reason to change the procedure or modify the outcome," Ivey said. "The execution will go forward."
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall had urged Ivey to let the execution go forward, writing that “it is our obligation to ensure that justice is done for the people of Alabama.”
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email erica.thomas@1819news.com.
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