Texas executes Michael Wayne Hall

Michael Wayne Hall

A 31-year-old North Texas man has been executed for the 1998 torture-slaying of a mentally challenged 19-year-old Arlington woman exactly 13 years ago.

Michael Wayne Hall's lethal injection came less than an hour after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to block the execution and was the 1st of the year for the nation's busiest death penalty state.

Hall was condemned for the murder of Amy Robinson, who was abducted en route to work at an Arlington supermarket. Hall and Robert Neville were convicted in her 1998 slaying.

The 2nd man convicted in her death, Robert Neville, was put to death 5 years ago.

Lawyers for Hall argued that he was mentally impaired and ineligible for the death penalty under a Supreme Court ruling that bars capital punishment for those with an IQ under 70.

"Mr. Hall's history of mental retardation reaches back to his childhood," attorney Bryce Benjet said earlier Tuesday.

In appeals, Benjet questioned an assessment from one mental health expert who shifted from an earlier finding and said Hall was not mentally impaired. Three others who examined Hall said he was impaired.

Hall's lawyers went to the Supreme Court a day after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals - the state's highest criminal court - refused to stop the punishment. Similar appeals also failed in other courts.

Hall's attorneys had argued that he, too, was mentally impaired and ineligible for the death penalty under a U.S. Supreme Court ruling barring executions of those with IQs of less than 70.

Hall becomes the 1st condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Texas and the 465th overall since the state resumed capital punishment on Dec. 7, 1982. He becomes the 226th condemned inmate to be put to death since Rick Perry became governor of Texas in 2001.

Hall was 18 when evidence showed that he and Neville, a 23-year-old paroled burglar, decided to abduct and kill Robinson, who worked at a Kroger store in Arlington, just west of Dallas. The men had been fired from jobs at the same supermarket.

Robinson had a genetic disorder called Turner's syndrome, a rare chromosome condition found only in women and characterized by short stature and lack of sexual development at puberty. Prosecutors described her as mentally challenged and trusting.

Authorities said Hall and Neville stopped Robinson along the bike route they knew she took to work and offered her a ride. She accepted.

They drove her about 12 miles to a remote area of Tarrant County where Neville shot at her repeatedly with a crossbow but missed. They also shot her numerous times with a pellet gun and a .22-caliber rifle, prosecutors said.

"Target practice," they bragged to reporters after they were arrested 2 weeks later trying to cross into Mexico near Eagle Pass. They also told reporters how they laughed as Robinson pleaded for her life.

After their arrests, Neville told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he and Hall wanted to become serial killers whose victims were racial minorities. Robinson was part Native American.

"We had a bet going to see who could shoot and kill the most people between the 2 of us," Neville said.

Hall said they returned to her body a few days later when he removed her keys and $4 or $5 from her pocket, then he and Neville shot her several more times.

Last year when Hall's execution date was set, Amanda Robinson, the victim's sister, told the Star-Telegram that the punishment would allow her sister to finally rest in peace.

"I'm sad for his family, but he's got to pay the price," she said. "You can't go out and kill people."

Bill Harris, one of Hall's trial lawyers, said he believed Neville was the person who killed Robinson and "cooked up the whole scheme."

"I'm personally convinced Michael is mentally retarded, that he fits the classic definition," Harris said. "If you got to know Michael for very long, you got to understand he was pretty profoundly limited. Half the time he didn't remember my name."

Harris said even if Hall was taken from death row and put in the general prison population, life would not be easy. "People with his mental limitations frequently are targets of some abuse and can be taken advantage of by other prisoners," he said.

"I would like to give my sincere apology to Amy's family," Hall said as he was strapped to the death chamber gurney. "We caused a lot of heartache, grief, pain and suffering, and I am sorry. I know it won't bring her back."

Speaking just above a whisper, his voice shaking and eyes watery, Hall said he wasn't the same person and repeatedly asked for forgiveness. Relatives of his victim stood a few feet away, looking through a window.

"I am not crying for myself, I am crying for the lost and those that are dying for their sins," he said. "I've been locked up 13 years. I am not locked up inside. All these years I have been free. Christ has changed me. Here I am, a big strong youngster, crying like a baby. I am man enough to show my emotions and I am sorry.

"I am sorry for everything. I wish I could take it back, but I can't."

Nine minutes later, he was pronounced dead.

At least 4 other Texas inmates have executions scheduled in the coming months. Timothy Wayne Adams is set to die next week for fatally shooting his 19-month-old son during an argument with his estranged wife at their apartment in Houston.

Hall becomes the 6th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1240th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977.

Sources: Associated Press, Rick Halperin, February 15, 2011

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