The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the appeal of John Battaglia, a former Dallas accountant sent to death row for the fatal shootings of his two young daughters nearly 15 years ago. The high court had no comment in refusing to review the appeal. Battaglia's execution has been set on March 30.
Battaglia faces execution for the deaths of his daughters, 6-year-old Liberty and 9-year-old Faith reports The Dallas Morning News. They were shot at his Deep Ellum loft in May 2001 as their mother listened helplessly on the telephone. At the time, Battaglia was on probation for hitting the children's mother, his ex-wife. He has been on death row since being convicted of capital murder in 2002.
He then filed an appeal with the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals claiming he received ineffective counsel because his lawyers failed to question jurors about their openness in considering mental health in their decision. Defense psychiatrists testified at his trial that he had bipolar disorder. His appeal went to the high court after the Court of Appeals rejected his appeal last summer according to NBC New York.
Battaglia has been described by friends and family as a charming and intelligent man whose life outside his job revolved around his three daughters - Faith, Liberty and a daughter from his first marriage. However, court records show that he could also be violent.
He was convicted of assault on his first wife, Michelle LaBorde, in 1988. He picked up a second conviction in August 2000 for hitting Mary Jean Pearle. The attack on LaBorde left her unconscious with a broken nose and fractured jaw. Battaglia was still on probation on the Pearle conviction when Faith and Liberty were killed reports CBS-DFW. He claimed that both incidents stemmed from disputes over his children.
In a 2011 interview, Battaglia spoke at length about his mother's suicide and his two failed marriages to the two women he was convicted of assaulting that caused him to be frustrated for life. He said that his violent rages are only brought on when his access to his children is threatened.
Battaglia maintained in another interview in 2013 that he loved his daughters but said he has been left a little bit in the blank about the incident that left his daughters dead. He said, "I don't feel like I killed them."
