Houston

Appeals court issues stay in execution of mentally ill man

Appeals judges question mental competence of 56-year-old man

By St. John Barned-Smith

December 3, 2014 Updated: December 3, 2014 9:43pm
FILE - This file handout photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Scott Panetti. A federal appeals court has given Panetti a reprieve from execution Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014. His attorneys say he is too delusional to be put to death. (AP Photo/Texas Department of Criminal Justice) Photo: Uncredited, HOPD / Texas Department of Criminal Jus
Photo: Uncredited, HOPD
FILE - This file handout photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Scott Panetti. A federal appeals court has given Panetti a reprieve from execution Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014. His attorneys say he is too delusional to be put to death. (AP Photo/Texas Department of Criminal Justice)

A schizophrenic inmate on Texas death row was granted a stay of execution by a federal appeals court just hours before he was scheduled to die Wednesday evening, a decision legal experts said was somewhat surprising but which made sense given the complexities of the case.

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