TEXAS (USA). COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS DECISION SIGNALS LIKELY SHUTDOWN OF EXECUTIONS

October 2, 2007: the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has granted a stay of execution to Heliberto Chi, following the U.S. Supreme Court's lead after it decided to examine whether Kentucky's protocol for lethal injection is cruel and unusual. Chi was scheduled to be executed on October 3. Attorneys for both the prosecution and defense said that the stay signals a probable slowdown, if not a complete shutdown, of executions in Texas until the Supreme Court issues a decision in the lethal injection case. Andrea Keilen, executive director of the Texas Defender Service, said she was encouraged "that the Texas Court did the right thing instead of waiting for another mandate from the Supreme Court." Tarrant County Assistant District Attorney Steven Conder said he was not surprised by the court's decision in light of the Supreme Court's consideration of the issue.
Prior to the Court of Criminal Appeals ruling in the case, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles declined to grant Chi relief, and Texas Governor Rick Perry refused to intervene in the case based on his belief that the state's lethal injection protocols are proper. In its decision, the Court of Criminal Appeals gave attorneys in the Chi case 30 days to "address the question of whether the current method of administering lethal injection in Texas constitutes cruel and unusual punishment."
The U.S. Supreme Court announced it would take the Kentucky case on September 25. That same night, Texas executed Michael Richard after defense attorneys failed to meet a deadline for filing an appeal on the lethal injection issue with the Court of Criminal Appeals. The Supreme Court then declined to issue a stay because the Texas court had not made a ruling on it. On September 27, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals declined to stay the execution of Carlton Turner, but the U.S. Supreme Court did so without explanation. Three more executions are schedule in Texas through February 2008. (Sources: Dallas Morning News, 03/10/2007)