Former White Supremacist Gang Member Justen Hall Executed For 2002 Strangulation
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — Former white supremacist gang member Justen Hall has been executed for strangling a West Texas woman over fears she would alert police about his drug operation.
Hall received a lethal injection Wednesday evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.
The 38-year-old Hall was condemned for the October 2002 killing of 29-year-old Melanie Billhartz.
Prosecutors say Hall strangled Billhartz with an extension cord from his El Paso drug house and buried her body in the New Mexico desert.
His attorneys had asked to stop the execution, alleging he wasn't competent. But Hall previously said he was competent and acknowledged killing Billhartz. Prosecutors said two experts in 2017 also found Hall to be competent.
Hall was the 19th inmate put to death this year in the U.S. and the eighth in Texas.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
