Joe James, convicted in the 1994 murder of a woman in Birmingham, was executed Thursday night at Holman prison in Atmore, state officials said. James was sent to death row for shooting his ex-girlfriend, 26-year old Faith Hall. Prosecutors say he had stalked the woman for months, when he followed her to a friend's apartment, broke down the door, and shot her three times, in the chest and abdomen, before shooting her in the head.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall issued this statement, following the execution:
"Justice has been served. 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. Tonight, Joe James finally received his just punishment."