[UCANSEE2]

Here's an interesting story.

The execution was halted late Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Terry Means in Fort Worth.

Means was acting on an appeal from Staley's lawyer who argued the convicted killer is mentally incompetent and should not be put to death.

"Judge Means' order was that nobody's ever heard this guy's competency question," attorney Jack Strickland said.

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the convicted killer is mentally incompetent and should not be put to death.

Terri is being put to death because she is mentally incompetent.

[Necrovore]

I read the story in the local San Antonio newspaper during lunch. Seems that Staley was interviewed last year by some psychiatrists who stated that he was aware of what his case was about and that he understood why he was on death row. Sounds pretty darned competent to me.

[Necrovore]

My mistake. It was last week when he was examined. Staley was examined last week by psychiatrists who determined he was aware of his punishment and why he was being put to death. Those are the criteria the U.S. Supreme Court established in 1986 as the standards for allowing execution of people whose competency is at issue. http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA032305.3B.texas_execution.1649818e6.html