Travis James Mullis: A Texas Man Set To Be Executed For Killing His Infant Son

HOUSTON In a deeply disturbing case that has reignited the debate over the intersection of mental health and capital punishment, Travis Mullis, a 38-year-old Texas man, is scheduled to be executed Tuesday evening for the brutal killing of his 3-month-old son, Alijah, over 16 years ago. 

The execution, set to take place at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, will be one of five executions planned in the United States within a single week, a grim milestone in the country’s capital punishment history.

This photo provided by Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Texas death row inmate Travis Mullis.(Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP)

A Tragic Chain of Events

Mullis, who was 21 at the time of the crime, reportedly drove to Galveston with his infant son after a heated argument with his girlfriend. 

What followed was a series of heinous acts that ended with Mullis stomping his son to death on the side of a road. According to authorities, Mullis first sexually assaulted the baby and then strangled him when he began to cry. 

After removing the child from the car, Mullis stomped on his son’s head, causing fatal injuries.

After the crime, Mullis fled Texas and was later apprehended when he turned himself into police in Philadelphia, confessing to the crime. Since his arrest, Mullis has been embroiled in legal battles over his competency and his rights to appeal his death sentence.

The Struggle Over Appeals

The journey to Mullis’ execution has been fraught with legal and ethical complexities. Despite a long history of profound mental illness, including bipolar disorder and childhood sexual abuse, Mullis has repeatedly expressed his desire to waive his right to appeal his death sentence. 

He has taken responsibility for his son’s death, stating in a letter to U.S. District Judge George Hanks in Houston earlier this year that he sought “the same finality and justice the state seeks.”

Mullis’ case has been marked by a contentious relationship with his attorneys, who have tried to intervene on his behalf, citing his severe mental health issues as grounds to challenge his competency in waiving his rights. 

In June 2023, his lawyer, Shawn Nolan, argued before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that Mullis was not mentally competent when he initially waived his right to appeal nearly a decade ago.

“The only hope that Mr. Mullis had of avoiding execution, of surviving, was to have competent counsel to help the court in its determination of whether he was giving up his rights knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily, and that did not happen,” Nolan said during the hearing.

However, the appeals court upheld Judge Hanks’ 2021 ruling that Mullis “repeatedly competently chose to waive review” of his death sentence, paving the way for the execution to proceed.

Mental Illness and Capital Punishment

Mullis’ case highlights the complex and often controversial issue of executing individuals with serious mental illness. 

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the death penalty cannot be applied to individuals with intellectual disabilities, but it has not extended this prohibition to those suffering from severe mental illness. 

This legal distinction has been a focal point in Mullis’ case, as his attorneys argue that his long history of mental health issues, including diagnoses of bipolar disorder and a traumatic childhood. 

During Mullis’ trial, prosecutors portrayed him as a manipulative individual who rejected medical and psychiatric help. They painted a picture of a man who, despite his mental health issues, was capable of understanding his actions and their consequences.

A Week of Executions

If carried out as scheduled, Mullis’ execution will be the fourth in Texas this year and the 15th in the U.S. 

The state, known as the nation’s busiest when it comes to capital punishment, will add to its tally just as Missouri, Oklahoma, and Alabama prepare to execute other death row inmates this week. 

This would be the first time in over 20 years that five executions have been carried out in a single week, a statistic that underscores the ongoing use of the death penalty in certain states.

On Friday, South Carolina executed inmate Freddie Owens, marking the beginning of this rare concentration of executions. 

The Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit organization that does not take a position on capital punishment but monitors its use, has expressed concern over the frequency of executions this week, particularly in light of the growing national debate over the ethics and effectiveness of the death penalty.