Texas executed Travis James Mullis on Tuesday, September 24, for the 2008 murder of his infant son. Mullis became the fourth inmate to be executed in the state this year.
Mullis was put to death by lethal injection. He was pronounced dead at 7:01 pm, confirmed Amanda Hernandez, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, according to USA Today.
Who was Travis James Mullis?
Mullis, 38, was accused of killing his three-month-old son Alijah. The baby was reportedly molested, stomped to death and abandoned at the Galveston’s Seawall, which is a popular tourist destination south of Houston.
Mullis was 21 years old at the time of the crime. He said he had reached a "breaking point" after the infant would not stop crying.
The night before the murder, Mullis had been bickering with then-girlfriend and mother of his child, Caren Kohberger, after he had attempted to make his roommate's daughter, 8, pull her pants down, according to court records. In the morning, Mullis drove south toward Galveston, taking Alijah with him, because he apparently wanted to clear his mind. When the baby started crying and Mullis could not get him to stop, he molested and choked him. He then pulled Alijah out of the car and placed him on the ground, and then went on to stomp on his head. He fled the state after flinging the car seat and the baby’s body toward the other side of the seawall.
However, a couple of days later, Mullis turned himself in and offered a confession to authorities in Philadelphia. He was subsequently extradited back to Texas, where he was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in March 2011. He had earlier waived his right to appeal his death sentence.
{{/usCountry}}However, a couple of days later, Mullis turned himself in and offered a confession to authorities in Philadelphia. He was subsequently extradited back to Texas, where he was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in March 2011. He had earlier waived his right to appeal his death sentence.
{{/usCountry}}In his final words, Mullis thanked and apologised to his loved ones. He thanked people who "accepted me for the man I became during my best and worst moments."
"I want to thank the field ministers, the Warden, and the correctional staff for all the changes being made across the system," Mullis said. "Even the men on Death Row, to show it is possible to be rehabilitated, and not deemed a threat and not the men we were when we came into the system. We have changed. We are not the same."
Mullis added that he does not regret the fact that he took the "legal steps" to expedite his death sentence. "I do regret the decision to take the life of my son. I apologize to the mother of my son, the victim's family," he said. "I have no ill will towards the court, the judicial system, the prosecution or the execution protocol. The morality of execution is between you and God ... It was my decision that put me here. I'm ready Warden.”
Mullis' defence attorney Shawn Nolan said his client has "always accepted responsibility" for the crime. "Texas will kill a redeemed man tonight. He never had a chance at life being abandoned by his parents and then severely abused by his adoptive father starting at age 3, "Nolan wrote. "During his decade and a half on death row he spent countless hours working on his redemption. And he achieved it." He added that the Mullis Texas wanted to kill is "long gone.”