A Texas death row inmate has won a federal appeals court order blocking
his execution scheduled for this month. Lawyers for convicted killer
Jose Briseno argued he is mentally retarded and that a jury hasn't been
allowed to make that determination. The U.S. Supreme Court has barred
execution of mentally retarded people. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals returned the case to the lower courts for
additional review. The ruling Thursday keeps Briseno from receiving
lethal injection that had been set for Jan. 20. Briseno, 47, was
sentenced to die for the 1991 robbery and murder of Dimmitt County
Sheriff Ben Murray. He was on parole for forgery when he was convicted
of capital murder for the slaying of Murray, who had been sheriff of
the far Southwest Texas county for almost 20 years. [more]
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