After James burst in, Faith initially tried to calm him down and steer the incident away from the children; however, he shot at her three times as she ran away.
[4] A Jefferson county jury convicted James of capital murder in 1996 and voted to recommend the death penalty, which a judge imposed.
The conviction was overturned when the Alabama court of criminal appeals ruled that a judge 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.
U.S. District Judge Terry F. Moorer considered issuing motions for a preliminary injunction in three of James' lawsuits.
James, allegedly unaware that he could delay his execution by electing nitrogen hypoxia, said the treatment violated his right to equal protection under the 14th Amendment.
[7] Hall's daughters had planned to attend the execution, hear James' final words hoping for an apology, and then leave.
[12] A private autopsy revealed puncture wounds and bruising around James' knuckles and wrists, which doctors say suggests members of the execution team had tried unsuccessfully to insert IV lines in those places.