John Balentine execution described as a "Lynching"

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A man sentenced to death for killing three teens more than two decades ago was executed in Texas on Wednesday.
In his final moments, John Balentine appeared cheery as he entered the death chamber according to the New York Post.

Balentine was sentenced to death by lethal injection for the January 1998 triple shooting of his former girlfriend’s brother, Edward Mark Caylor, 17, as well as Kai Brooke Geyer, 15, and Steve Watson, 15, at a home in Amarillo.

All three victims were caucasian and Balentine is African-American.

Mr Caylor’s sister, who was among the witnesses, was Balentine’s former girlfriend. Prosecutors said the shootings stemmed from a fight between Mr Caylor and Balentine. Balentine argued that Mr Caylor and others threatened his life over his interracial relationship.
Although he confessed to the killings, his current lawyers argued for years that his 1999 trial was tainted by racial bias.

In addition to alleging that the jury foreman was an open racist, Balentine’s legal team claimed the state’s lawyers blocked potential black jurors and that one of Balentine’s trial lawyers, Randall Sherrod, referred to the sentencing as “justifiable lynching”.

Balentine claimed the three white teens threatened to kill him. He knew the police would do nothing so he took it upon himself to kill them first. In some people's eyes that's justifiable homicide.

He should pay the price, after all he murdered three teens. But does he deserve the death penalty? the foreman invovled in the jury was allegedly an open racist who probably spouted crap about consequences of interracial relationships. The Judge didn't throw the scumbag out of court. Apparently there was some split over whether he deserved the death penalty.

In my view the little s**ts probably deserved it. Ballentine should have just got life in prison.