![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/PolunskyUnitWestLivingstonTX.jpg/640px-PolunskyUnitWestLivingstonTX.jpg&w=640&q=50)
James Garrett Freeman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
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 |
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/PolunskyUnitWestLivingstonTX.jpg/640px-PolunskyUnitWestLivingstonTX.jpg)
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/HuntsvilleUnitHuntsvilleTX.jpg/640px-HuntsvilleUnitHuntsvilleTX.jpg)
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]