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| Texas Judge Stops Execution |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 03/01/2002 |
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A federal judge halted the execution of a condemned killer and agreed Wednesday to hear from mental health experts about the inmate's sanity. Lawyers for Monty Delk, who was to die by lethal injection Thursday, says he is insane and should not be executed. U.S. District Judge Richard Schell said he would hold a hearing on the matter, probably by July. The Texas attorney general's office said it would appeal the judge's stay. 'A stay is always good news,' defense attorney John Wright said. The fact they're appealing it is always bad news. But I'd just as soon let them have something to appeal.' Delk, 35, was condemned for the 1986 shooting death of Gene Olan Allen II, whose body was found in a remote area about 140 miles north of Houston. The victim's wife last saw him driving away with Delk, who had called earlier about a newspaper ad that listed their car for sale and wanted to take a test drive. Prosecutors say prison psychiatrists have determined Delk is faking his incoherence. The state's appeal would go to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. Delk babbles incoherently when spoken to, has refused for months to take a shower and occasionally is found in his cell smeared with his own feces. His mental competency, never an issue at his trial, was reviewed by his trial court in 1997. The court ruled his behavior, which at the time required him to be gagged in the courtroom because of his repeated outbursts, was voluntary. |
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