By Juan A. Lozano —
The Associated Press
HOUSTON — Andre Thomas, a death row prisoner in Texas, began hearing voices when he was 9 years old and first attempted suicide at 10 due to mental illness, according to his attorneys.
Thomas's psychosis, filled with religious delusions and hallucinations, worsened as he grew older.
His family, beset by a long history of mental illness, addiction and poverty, was unable to help him.
Andre Thomas, a prisoner on death row in Texas, who will be executed on April 5, 2023.AP
According to his lawyers, in March 2004, when he was 21 years old, Thomas' mental illness manifested itself in horrific acts of violence in his hometown of Sherman, Texas.
He fatally stabbed
his wife Laura Christine Boren, 20, his son Andre Lee, 4, and his daughter Leyha Marie Hughes, 13 months, ripping out their hearts children.
He then told the police that God had commanded him to commit the murders, and that
he believed the three were demons
.
Thomas was sentenced to death for killing the baby after the jury rejected his defense of insanity.
Prosecutors argued that he knew his conduct was wrong and that he aggravated his mental state with drug use.
He has spent the last 15 years in a state unit south of Houston that houses inmates suffering from serious mental illness.
Thomas, 39, who is heavily medicated, is blind.
Since the murders, he has twice gouged out his own eyes, and ate one of them to make sure the government couldn't hear his thoughts, his lawyers said.
[A woman called 911 after letting a killer use her phone in Yakima, Washington]
Thomas' lawyers say he will never be fit to be executed on April 5.
They, along with more than 100 faith leaders and dozens of mental health professionals, on Wednesday called on Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to commute their sentence to life in prison or grant a reprieve so that the Courts can determine their jurisdiction for enforcement.
U-Haul van driver faces charges of murder, attempted murder and assault
Feb 15, 202301:21
"Governor Abbott has the power to stop the spectacle of watching prison guards lead
a blind, mentally incompetent and delusional man to the death chamber
," said attorney Maurie Levin.
But authorities say Thomas' victims and their families should not be forgotten in this debate and that if Thomas is found to be competent, his execution should go ahead.
The murders of Boren and his children shocked Sherman, a city of about 45,000 people 65 miles north of Dallas.
[The school was alerted three times that a 6-year-old boy was armed before he shot his teacher, according to his lawyer]
“A jury has ruled on what justice should be in this case.
We're not going to ignore it,” said J. Kerye Ashmore of the Grayson County District Attorney's Office, which handled the case.
An Abbott spokeswoman did not respond to an email sent Friday seeking comment by The Associated Press.
Abbott has only granted clemency to one death row inmate since he took office in 2015.
The Supreme Court
has prohibited the death penalty for the intellectually disabled
, but not for people with severe mental illness.
However, it has ruled that a person must be competent to be executed.
On video: Family member of Buffalo shooting victim runs after killer in court
Feb 15, 202303:09
Thomas' lawyers will have to file a judicial motion asking that he be examined if he is competent to serve his sentence.
Ultimately, it will be a judge who decides that.
His lawyers say prison records show that as recently as December, Thomas "still constantly hallucinates," hearing "voices from a spirit prison" and seeking "angels."
[On video: A woman who was sleeping in her car woke up in the middle of a police chase]
“
He is one of the prisoners with more mental illnesses
in the history of Texas”, said Levin.
Thomas' lawyers have also said his trial was problematic because some people who opposed interracial marriage were allowed to serve on the jury.
Thomas is black and his wife was white.
The Supreme Court last year refused to hear an appeal on this issue.
Ashmore said the standard for determining whether someone is competent to be executed is not "if they are mentally ill or hallucinating" but whether
an inmate understands why they are being sentenced to death
or that their execution is imminent.
What gun laws have changed after the Parkland massacre?
Feb 15, 202301:17
Joe Brown, the former Grayson County district attorney who led the prosecution, said this has been a difficult case for all involved.
“A lot of people don't care whether or not he understands that he's being punished.
They believe that such a crime requires death.
For others... the death penalty is never justified.
Our legal system does the best it can in that difficult situation,” said Brown, who is now in private practice in Sherman.
[More mass shootings than days of the year in the US: 37 so far in 2023 alone]
The Texas Legislature is set to debate a bill that would make people with serious mental illness ineligible for the death penalty.
Similar bills failed to become law in 2019 and 2021.
Kentucky and Ohio have passed such measures in recent years.
"It would be very concerning to execute Thomas while the (Texas) House of Representatives reconsiders the possibility of exempting people like him from execution," said Greg Hansch, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness-Texas.
If that bill were to become law, it would not be retroactive.
The Rev. Jaime Kowlessar, a Dallas pastor who is among more than 100 religious leaders calling for a halt to the execution, said sentencing Thomas to death would serve no legitimate purpose.
"We pray that Governor Abbott chooses the path of healing and grace by sparing Thomas's life," Kowlessar said.
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/6YCPB3COKFHPZIDIWESDJRX7CE.jpg)
