R.I.P. Michael Hall

Roman Colosseum lit to protest an execution

On February 15, 2011, Texas executed Michael Hall for his involvement in the 1998 killing of Amy Robinson, a mentally challenged 19-year old.  Robert Neville, who was also convicted of the murder, was executed in 2006.  Hall repeatedly apologized to the victim's relatives who witnessed his execution.  Hall was 18 years old at the time of the murder (Neville was 23), with an IQ ranging between 64 and 72.  The claim that he was intellectually disabled and ineligible for the death penalty was rejected.  After the Supreme Court declined to hear the case, Danny Burns, one of Hall's appellate attorneys stated:  "The truth is that Michael Hall will be executed for something he never fully comprehended.  It's just a sad case all the way around. The facts of the case are sad and it's sad that a person like Michael Hall will have to be executed."   This is the sixth execution in the United States this year, and the first in Texas.