Bio

Johnny James was born on January 30, 1954. Available reporting describes him as a native of Arkansas who later lived and worked in Texas. Before the murder of Barbara Harrington Mayfield, James worked as a truck driver and had also worked at BJ’s Lounge near High Island, Texas. The lounge was owned by Barbara Mayfield, who later became the victim in the capital murder case.

During appeals, James’s attorneys described him as a recovering alcoholic and said he had been abused by an alcoholic father. They argued that alcoholism and intoxication should have been considered as mitigating evidence during sentencing. However, the courts did not stop the execution on that basis.

Murder Story

On October 22, 1985, Johnny James abducted 47-year-old Barbara Harrington Mayfield from BJ’s Lounge near High Island, Texas. Mayfield owned the nightclub, and James had previously worked there.

During the attack, James shot Mayfield in the foot, placed her in the trunk of her car, and drove away. He then drove to a convenience store in Winnie, Texas, about 15 miles away, where he stole approximately $300 and abducted a female clerk. Court records and news accounts state that James forced the two women to engage in sexual acts with each other. He then raped and sodomized the store clerk.

After the assaults, James shot both women in the head with a .38-caliber pistol and left them beside a road. Barbara Mayfield died from her injuries. The store clerk survived and later identified James as the attacker. James was convicted of capital murder for intentionally causing Barbara Harrington Mayfield’s death during the commission or attempted commission of aggravated sexual assault. His conviction and death sentence were affirmed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on April 26, 1989.

James pursued appeals in state and federal court. In September 1993, his lawyers asked the United States Supreme Court to stop the execution, arguing that Texas law had limited the jury’s ability to consider his alcoholism and background as mitigating evidence. The Court declined to halt the execution.

Johnny James was executed by lethal injection in Texas on September 3, 1993. He was pronounced dead at 12:17 a.m. He was 39 years old.