An East Texas man set for execution this week for a shootout 8 years ago that left 2 sheriff's officers dead has won a reprieve from the state's highest criminal appeals court.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals late Monday stopped the scheduled execution of 55-year-old Randall Wayne Mays.
Mays was set for lethal injection Wednesday evening in Huntsville for the fatal shootings at his home in Henderson County, about 55 miles southeast of Dallas.
The court agreed with Mays' lawyers that additional review is needed to determine if Mays is mentally competent for execution.
His punishment would have depleted the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's supply of pentobarbital used for lethal injections and now difficult to obtain for capital punishment.
At least 4 Texas executions are scheduled for April.
Source: Associated Press, March 16, 2015