[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 2



TEXAS----stay of impending execution

Appeals court halts execution of Honduran man


The state's highest criminal appeals court today halted the scheduled
execution Wednesday of a Honduran man and asked for the prison system to
respond in writing as to whether lethal injection is unconstitutionally
cruel.

Heliberto Chi, 28, was convicted in the 2001 killing of an Arlington store
manager. His appeal was partly based on the U.S. Supreme Court's decision
last week to study whether lethal injection in Kentucky  which uses the
same 3-drug combination as in Texas  violated the Eighth Amendment.

The breakdown of the court's vote was not immediately available. Earlier
today, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted 4-3 not to grant Chi a
6-month stay.

(source: Houston Chronicle)