News Coverage of Charles Hood Case

Adam Ellick reports, "Time Runs Out for Execution in Texas," in the New York Times.

A day of desperate filings climaxed at midnight on Wednesday when prison officials ran out of time to carry out the execution of a Texas death row inmate who had lost his last-minute bids for a stay.

Gov. Rick Perry then immediately issued a one-time 30-day reprieve, according to The Houston Chronicle.

The inmate, Charles Hood, was shuttled to the death chamber several times as prosecutors, defense lawyers, the United States Supreme Court and Texas courts exchanged more than a dozen appeals and rulings throughout the night.

"We've had a lot of cases in Texas that defy common sense, but this does reach a new low," said Andrea Keilen, executive director of the Texas Defender Service.

The controversy started last week when lawyers for Mr. Hood accused the presiding judge and the lead prosecutor of having had a romantic relationship in 1990 during Mr. Hood's double murder trial.

On Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Hood's lawyers petitioned the Collin County District Court to stay his execution, calling for more information from current county prosecutors about the relationship.

The district judge granted that request but immediately recused himself from the case without reason. After several appeals from prosecutors, the state's highest court ruled that the lower court lacked authority to withdraw Mr. Hood's death warrant and ordered a new judge to reinstate the case.

Mr. Hood's lawyers then submitted another surge of appeals to the Criminal Court of Appeals and to the United States Supreme Court. The appeals were dismissed and the defense was about to process other filings when the prison announced that it would not be able to properly carry out the lethal injection protocol before the midnight deadline.

In the Austin American-Statesman, Steven Kreytak writes, "After legal wrangle, state halts execution."

After hearing arguments by telephone Tuesday, Judge Curt B. Henderson, sitting in the 296th District Court in Collin County, where Hood was convicted in 1990, submitted an order recalling the death warrant.

In a separate order, Henderson recused himself from the case. He gave no explanation for his actions.  

Collin County District Attorney John R. Roach filed two motions asking the Court of Criminal Appeals to overrule Henderson.  

Roach said Henderson "clearly abused his discretion by attempting to withdraw the execution date without authority."  

The Court of Criminal Appeals refused to order Henderson to reinstate the order because he had recused himself from the case. Prosecutors then successfully asked the Court of Criminal Appeals to order the region's presiding judge, John Ovard, to reinstate the death warrant.

According to Hood's lawyers, Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Sharon Keller then contacted Ovard, urging him to reinstate the order allowing the execution to go forward, which he did.

Diane Jennings reports, "Collin County murderer not executed after day of legal wrangling."

Earlier in the day, Larry Fox, former chairman of the American Bar Association Ethics Committee, worried about the impact of Mr. Hood's possible execution. Mr. Fox was one of several other legal experts calling for review of the case.

"I was thinking the headlines tomorrow for us around the world would be a black mark on our system of justice," he said.

The AP dispatch by Mike Graczyk, "Inmate avoids lethal injection," is from the San Antonio Express-News.

"The death warrant was set to expire at midnight," prison spokeswoman Michelle Lyons said. "It was determined that there was not enough time for prison officials to follow the proper protocol prior to the warrant expiring.

"We initiated halting the execution for that reason. Certainly we were not willing to jeopardize our protocol. And time became an issue."

The action was unprecedented in the nation's busiest capital punishment state, where 406 prisoners have been put to death since 1982. Executions have been halted because the warrant expired, but not under these circumstances.

Lyons said prison officials consulted with Perry's office.

"The governor's office understands the importance of the protocol and was supportive," she said.