A March 30 execution date has been set for a former Dallas accountant sent to death row for the fatal shootings of his two young daughters nearly 15 years ago.
Texas Department of Criminal Justice figures show 60-year-old John Battaglia joins at least six other condemned prisoners set for lethal injection in the early months of 2016, including two later this month.
Battaglia was convicted of the slayings of his daughters – 6-year-old Liberty and 9-year-old Faith. The girls were shot at his apartment in May 2001 as their mother, Battaglia's ex-wife, listened helplessly on the telephone. At the time, she had accused Battaglia of violating a protective order.
Last July, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an appeal that contended lawyers at his 2002 trial were deficient.
