Texas to execute man who killed his daughters

CHICAGO: The US state of Texas is scheduled to put to death Thursday a man who executed his two young daughters while forcing his ex-wife to listen on the phone.
John Battaglia shot to death his six- and nine-year-old daughters in 2001, when they were visiting him for dinner. He killed them while they were talking to their mother on speaker phone as apparent revenge for her reporting his probation violation that would land him in jail.
Nine-year-old Faith's last words were, "No, Daddy. Don't do it."
She and her sister Liberty were found dead at Battaglia's Dallas-area apartment with multiple gunshot wounds.
Battaglia's lawyers filed appeals claiming he suffers from mental illness and delusions that made him incapable of understanding why he was being punished.
In a 2014 interview with The Dallas Morning News, Battaglia denied responsibility for the murders, saying, "I don't feel like I killed them."
Previous court rulings delayed earlier execution dates, but a federal appeals court on Thursday denied one of the latest claims. A final appeal is pending at the US Supreme Court.
If he is executed, Battaglia would be the second Texas inmate this week and third this year to be put to death.
The Lone Star state, which carries out the most executions, is also the only one to have put inmates to death so far this year. The next one is scheduled in the midwestern state of Ohio on Feb 13. — AFP