Appeals court halts execution of schizophrenic Texas inmate (story on The Rachel Maddow Show)

Texas death row inmate Scott Panetti in 1999. Associated Press file photo

A federal appeals court on Wednesday halted the execution of a schizophrenic Texas inmate, Scott Panetti, to further review “complex legal questions” in the case.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did not list what those questions were, but Panetti’s lawyers had sought a stay of execution to allow mental health professionals to assess whether Panetti is mentally competent to be executed.

The court said it will hear oral arguments on the matter at a later date.

Texas had set Panetti’s execution for 6 p.m. Wednesday in the 1992 shooting deaths of his wife’s parents in their Fredericksburg home.

Read more: http://www.statesman.com/news/news/appeals-court-halts-execution-of-schizophrenic-tex/njKxc/