John Battaglia
John Battaglia, 62, was executed by lethal injection by the State of Texas at the Huntsville Unit in Huntsville on February 1, 2018, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. His former wife, Mary Jean Pearl, watched from behind a window as he died. His lawyers argued that his grasp of reality was so distorted that he was incompetent to be executed and asked the US Supreme Court to halt the execution, but the court rejected the appeal.
Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state. His lawyers argued he was mentally incompetent to be executed, but the US Supreme Court rejected their appeal to halt the execution.
Reported by: Texas Department of Criminal Justice (the agency that held him); his lawyers; US Supreme Court (court).