Texas death row inmate Andre Thomas who killed three people, including his two children, has been granted a stay of execution. Thomas was set to be executed on April 5, but a competency hearing has been granted since Thomas later gouged out both of his eyes and ate one of them.
Andre Thomas, 39, was sentenced to death for the 2004 killings of his estranged wife, Christine Boren, 20, their 4-year-old son Andre Lee and her 13-month-old daughter Leyha Marie Hughes.
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Thomas was to be executed in Texas on April 5, but State District Judge James Fallon issued an order on Tuesday withdrawing the execution date.
Thomas’ lawyers had requested additional time to prepare for a court hearing to review his competency, citing mental illness.
The Supreme Court has prohibited the death penalty for the intellectually disabled but not for people with serious mental illness. However, it has ruled that a person must be competent to be executed.
“We are confident that when we present the evidence of Mr. Thomas’s incompetence, the court will agree that executing him would violate the Constitution,” Maurie Levin, Thomas’ attorney, wrote in a statement. “Guiding this blind psychotic man to the gurney for execution offends our sense of humanity and serves no legitimate purpose.”
Levin called Thomas “one of the most mentally ill prisoners in Texas history,” adding that “he is not competent to be executed, lacking a rational understanding of the state’s reason for his execution.”
After the killings, Thomas told police that God instructed him to carry out the fatal stabbings and that he believed the three victims were demons.
In 2018 while in prison, he gouged out both eyes during two separate incidents, according to his lawyers. According to the attorneys, he ate one of his eyeballs to ensure the government could not listen to his thoughts.
Andre Thomas was set to be exectuted on April 5 2023.
Andre Thomas was put on death row in Texas after stabbing his estranged wife and cutting out the hearts of her children, including one who was is, but his lawyers claim that he's not fit for execution. pic.twitter.com/srXCobELst
— airborne assault services (@Wayne57072607) March 11, 2023
Over 100 religious leaders had asked Gov. Greg Abbott to stop the execution before the judge’s ruling last week.
The Grayson County District Attorney’s Office argued that the faith leaders and others calling for clemency for Thomas are not fully informed about the case and have not read any reports or evaluations about his mental state.
“None of these people know anything about the case. They are parroting what the defense has told them,” J. Kerye Ashmore said. He added that he has reviewed records that indicate Thomas knew about his execution date and that he was aware that he is in prison because he killed his estranged wife and her kids.
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Thomas’ attorneys have until July 5 to file their motion asking that the inmate’s competency be reviewed before his execution can proceed.
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