On July 16, 2013, the State of Texas executed John Quintanilla. Two days later the State put Ross Vaughn to death. That was the last time two executions were carried out in the same week in Texas, until now.
On January 30, the State of Texas executed William Rayford for the 1999 murder of Carol Lynn Thomas Hall in her Dallas home. According to the Texas Tribune Rayford claimed his sentencing trial was “tainted by racial prejudice and that he was wrongly denied federal funding to further investigate evidence that could have persuaded a jury to give him a lighter sentence.”
On February 1, the State of Texas executed John Battaglia for the 2001 killings of his two daughters in Dallas. Three mental health experts diagnosed Battaglia with delusional disorder and found him incompetent for execution. He faced two serious execution dates in 2016. In September 2017, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected Battaglia’s claim of incompetency.
Dallas County accounts for 58 executions since the death penalty was reinstated in 1974, second only to Harris County. However, Dallas County has not added any new death penalty sentences since 2013.