James Garrett Freeman

James Garrett Freeman
Born	(1980-11-12)November 12, 1980 Lissie, Texas, U.S.
Died	January 27, 2016(2016-01-27) (aged 35) Huntsville Unit, Huntsville, Texas, U.S.
Cause of death	Execution by lethal injection
Criminal status	Executed
Conviction(s)	Capital murder
Criminal penalty	Death (November 7, 2008)
Details
Victims	Justin Hurst, 34
Date	March 17, 2007

Allan B. Polunsky Unit houses the State of Texas death row for men.

Huntsville Unit, the location of the Texas state execution chamber.

James Garrett Freeman (November 12, 1980[1] – January 27, 2016[2]) was an American man who was convicted, sentenced to death, and executed for murder in Texas.

Freeman originated from Lissie, an unincorporated area in Wharton County, Texas. He was a welder, but was unemployed at the time he committed murder. He had no record of violence. On March 17, 2007, Freeman engaged in a high-speed chase with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) officers. At the Lissie Cemetery, where the chase ended, he fired at TPWD staff with an AK-47 and a Glock pistol. Justin Hurst, a 34-year old TPWD game warden, was struck twice and killed.[3] Hurst had turned 34 that day. Freeman was shot four times and survived.

Freeman, Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ)#999539,[1] was convicted and sentenced to death. While on death row he was in Polunsky Unit.[4] He was executed at Huntsville Unit on January 27, 2016, nine years after the murder.^[citation needed]

The Justin Hurst Wildlife Management Area (WMA) of the TPWD, located in Brazoria County, Texas,[5] was renamed after the victim in 2007. It was formerly the Peach Point WMA.[6]

See also

• Capital punishment in Texas
• List of people executed in Texas, 2010–2019
• List of people executed in the United States in 2016

References

1. "Freeman, James." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on February 4, 2016.
2. Last Statement Freeman, James. Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on February 4, 2016.
3. O'Hare, Peggy (November 7, 2008). "Wharton jury sentences game warden's killer to death". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on August 22, 2012. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
4. Barned-Smith, St. John (January 28, 2016). "Wharton County man executed in killing of game warden". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
5. "Justin Hurst (WMA)." Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Retrieved on March 31, 2016.
6. "TPWD Dedicates Justin Hurst WMA in Honor of Fallen Warden." Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. October 15, 2007. Retrieved on March 31, 2016.

External links

• Texas Courts: Indictment, Conviction, and Sentencing
• "IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TEXAS NO. AP-76,052 JAMES GARRETT FREEMAN, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS ON DIRECT APPEAL FROM CAUSE NO. 15987 IN THE 329TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT WHARTON COUNTY"