Execution Scheduled For MD Man Accused Of Triple Murder: DOJ

LAUREL, MD — The Federal Bureau of Prisons recently scheduled the execution of a Marylander charged with triple murder. Laurel man Dustin John Higgs is slated for execution on Jan. 15, 2021, the Department of Justice said.

Higgs is accused of kidnapping and murdering three women: Tamika Black, 19; Tanji Jackson, 21; and Mishann Chinn, 23. A DOJ report said Higgs and two friends picked the three women up in Washington, D.C. one night in January of 1996.

They drove back to Higgs' apartment in Laurel, where he made a move on Jackson, the report added. She declined the advance, and the women left, according to the DOJ.

The writeup noted that Higgs offered the trio a ride back to Washington, D.C., but he instead drove them to a secluded part of the Patuxent National Wildlife Refuge. Higgs ordered the women out of the car and handed a gun to his friend, saying, “Better make sure they’re dead,” the report continued. The unnamed friend then shot and killed all three women, the DOJ said.

The incident report added that a federal jury found Higgs guilty of the following crimes:

• Three counts of first-degree premeditated murder
• Three counts of first-degree felony murder
• Three counts of kidnapping resulting in death

In 2000, a judge gave Higgs nine death sentences, the DOJ noted. The courts upheld Higgs' conviction in an appeal nearly 17 years ago. His other challenges failed almost eight years ago.

On Nov. 20, Attorney General William Barr ordered the Bureau of Prisons to set the date for Higgs' execution. The same directive also scheduled the executions of two other inmates accused of unrelated murders.

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