Texas Man to Be Executed for Killing Infant Son

Travis Mullis, a 38-year-old Texas man with a documented history of mental illness, is set to be executed on Tuesday for the murder of his infant son, Alijah, in 2008. Mullis, who had previously admitted his guilt and claimed "his punishment fit the crime," had repeatedly requested to waive his right to appeal, leading to his scheduled lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. His attorneys did not intend to file any last-minute appeals or seek clemency.

In January 2008, Mullis, then 21, sexually assaulted and murdered his son after a fight with his girlfriend. Authorities reported that Mullis strangled and stomped on the three-month-old's head after the baby began crying uncontrollably. After fleeing to Philadelphia, Mullis later surrendered to law enforcement.

Legal battles over Mullis' mental competence persisted for over a decade. His lawyer, Shawn Nolan, argued that Mullis, who had been treated since childhood for mental illness, was "severely bipolar" and challenged the court's decision that he was competent to waive his appeal rights. The US Supreme Court bars the death penalty for the intellectually disabled but not for those with serious mental illness. Mullis is set to be the fourth inmate executed in Texas this year and among five executions scheduled in the US within a week. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)