Less than three hours before Robert Campbell was to be murdered by a lethal dose of pentobarbital by the State of Texas, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals put a halt to the execution. Mr. Campbell's attorneys argued they needed more time to file paperwork challenging the execution on the grounds that Mr. Campbell is mentally retarded. The argument is based on test results that were previously unavailable to Mr. Campbell's lawyers.
In a dissent to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denial of relief last week, Judge Elsa Alacala wrote that the test result turned over to Mr. Campbell's attorneys fell within the margin of error of mental retardation.
The court rejected his attorneys arguments that the execution couldn't go forward because Texas refuses to reveal the source of its death drug.
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