11 April 2020 :
4th execution delayed in midst of virus outbreak. Billy Joe Wardlow’s execution was postponed from April 29 to July 8. Wardlow, 45, was condemned for the June 1993 fatal shooting of 82-year-old Carl Cole during a robbery at his home in Cason. The execution date was changed by state District Judge Angela Saucier of Titus County in East Texas. While Saucier didn’t mention COVID-19 in her order, Morris County District Attorney Steve Cowan had requested the change citing the statewide disaster declaration due to the virus. He also cited 3 other executions the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals delayed in March and earlier this month. Wardlow’s attorneys had requested the execution date instead be withdrawn, which would have resulted in a new date much later than July 8.
