The partying continued into the early hours of January 27. The six of them traveled in Higgs' vehicle, a blue Mazda MPV van, and returned to his apartment to drink alcohol, smoke marijuana, and listen to music. Dates had been arranged for each of the men and women and the groups had agreed to meet and hang out together. On the evening of January 26, 1996, Higgs, Willis Haynes, and Victor Gloria drove from Higgs' apartment in Laurel, Maryland, to Washington, D.C., to pick up Tamika Black, Tanji Jackson, and Mishann Chinn. A moratorium on federal executions is currently in place, imposed by attorney general Merrick Garland during the presidency of Joe Biden, who opposes capital punishment. Higgs remains the most recent person executed by the United States federal government. Trump’s presidency ended only four days later. Higgs was executed via lethal injection on January 16, 2021, becoming the thirteenth and final person executed by the federal government during the presidency of Donald Trump, when federal executions returned after a 17-year hiatus. In 2012, Haynes swore in an affidavit that Higgs did not force or threaten him into killing any of the victims. Higgs and his defense team maintained his innocence to the end, arguing that although he was involved, he was merely a witness, and was set up by Haynes and another witness, Victor Gloria. The prosecution argued that although Higgs did not kill anyone, he was the ringleader, ordering and bullying Haynes. The man who shot them, Willis Mark Haynes, was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole plus 45 years. The main contention was that Higgs did not personally kill any of the three victims, but waited in a vehicle nearby. Possession of cocaine with intent to distribute (21 U.S.C. Use of a firearm during a crime of violence (18 U.S.C. USP Terre Haute, Terre Haute, Indiana, U.S.įirst degree murder (18 U.S.C.
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