John Battaglia Executed: What You Need To Know

HUNTSVILLE, TX — A former Dallas accountant was executed around 9:40 p.m. in Huntsville Thursday night, according to a report from KDFW.

John David Battaglia, 62, killed his 9-year-old daughter, Faith, and her 6-year-old sister, Liberty, in his Deep Ellum apartment in May 2001.

Only hours before the execution was to be carried out, Battaglia's lawyers filed an appeal citing claims that Texas' last two executions were botched using expired and relabeled drugs, the Texas Tribune reported.

The appeal claims the drugs were set to expire on Jan. 22, but were re-tested and given a November 2018 expiration date, the Tribune wrote.

Claims were made that expired drugs caused adverse symptoms in the previous executions, but the Department of Criminal Justice disagreed. According to spokesman Jason Clark, the men both lost consciousness almost immediately after receiving the injections and suffered no ill reactions, according to The Tribune.

Hours before Battaglia's scheduled punishment, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an unrelated appeal that argued a lower court improperly refused his lawyers money to hire an expert to further examine legal claims he's mentally incompetent for execution.

Battaglia's attorneys also asked the Supreme Court to stop the punishment and review his case, contending that Battaglia was delusional and mentally incompetent for execution.

Attorneys for Battaglia contend that he doesn't have that understanding and that the state's highest court, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, misapplied the Supreme Court's guidance when it ruled that Battaglia is competent. They also argue that a federal judge improperly denied their requests for additional money to hire an expert to collect information about his competency, which has been the focus of prolonged appeals in his case.

A Supreme Court ruling requires that prisoners be executed only if they're aware the death penalty is to be carried out and have a rational understanding of why they're facing that punishment.

A state judge and the state appeals court described Battaglia as highly intelligent, competent, not mentally ill and faking mental illness to avoid execution.

The Dallas Morning News reported a mental health expert gave testimony stating Battaglia was probably faking or exaggerating his delusions in an effort to save his life.

State attorneys argued that the Texas courts ensured proper legal standards were followed and that Battaglia had been provided expert help and a court hearing in accordance with Supreme Court precedents.

Testimony at a hearing showed Battaglia used the prison library to research capital case rulings on mental competence and discussed with his father during a phone call from jail the "chess game" of avoiding execution. State Judge Robert Burns, who found him competent, said Battaglia's intelligence and education — he has a master's degree — shows he's not a "typical inmate" and has the "motive and intellectual capability to maintain a deliberate ploy or ruse to avoid his execution."

At the time of the shootings, Battaglia was on probation for a Christmas 1999 attack on his estranged wife.

According to prosecutors, Battaglia became enraged that his estranged wife, Mary Jane Pearle, notified police about his harassment and he used the scheduled visit with their daughters to act on his anger. Pearle, who had gone to dinner, returned a call from one of her daughters and heard Faith pleading with her father, who put the call on speakerphone.

"No, daddy, please don't, don't do it!" Faith begged.

Pearle yelled into the phone for the children to run, then heard gunshots.

"Merry ... Christmas," Battaglia told Pearle, the words of the holiday greeting derisively divided by an obscenity.

There were more gunshots. Pearle called 911.

Battaglia's profanity-laced Christmas greeting to Pearle was an apparent reference to the 1999 Christmas attack.

Faith was shot three times; Liberty, five. Hours later, Battaglia was arrested outside at a tattoo shop where he had two large red roses inked on his left arm to commemorate his daughters. It took four officers to subdue him.

A fully loaded revolver was found in his truck and more than a dozen firearms were recovered from his apartment.

Battaglia told The Dallas Morning News in 2014 his daughters were his "best little friends" and that he had photos of them displayed in his prison cell."I don't feel like I killed them," he said. "I am a little bit in the blank about what happened.

According to reports, Battaglia's last meal was standard prison fare — chicken patties and potatoes.

WFAA reporter Rebecca Lopez attended Thursday's execution. Follow her on Twitter for more details. Reports state Pearle was also be in attendance at the execution.

Death penalty nay-sayers, meanwhile, took to Twitter Thursday afternoon to express disagreement with the execution.

"As we stand together against this state-sanctioned killing, we hold central in our hearts Faith and Liberty Battaglia," wrote Sister Helen Prejean, a death penalty critic. "They were shot and killed by their own father. It was a terrible act. There is no shying away from that fact."

Another Twitter user, Dirk Hermann, penned a note to Texas Governor Greg Abbott pleading for reprieve for Battaglia.

"Dear Mr Governor, John David Battaglia; birth date: August 2, 1955; TDCJ#999412.
I am writing to you to express my concern over the execution of John Battaglia scheduled for February 1, 2018. The respect for life is upheld for all and is never lost from one’s actions," he wrote.

Battaglia is nation's third prisoner executed this year. In 2017, 23 convicted killers were executed in the U.S., including seven in Texas, which was more than any other state.

Watch Dallas Morning News' 2014 Jailhouse Interview With Battaglia:

File Photo: This undated photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows John David Battaglia, who is scheduled for execution Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018, in Huntsville, Texas, for the May 2001 slayings of his two daughters. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP)

This story was compiled with information from Michael Graczyk, Associated Press