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Texas court halts execution of man who didn’t pull trigger

CORRECTS SPELLING OF FIRST NAME TO JEFFERY FROM JEFFREY - This undated photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows death row inmate Jeffery Wood. A Republican lawmaker in Texas says a bipartisan group of legislators will take the highly unusual step of urging the state to halt the execution of Wood, who didn't pull the trigger during a fatal 1996 robbery. Wood is scheduled to die by lethal injection Wednesday. He was convicted under a Texas law that makes a participant in a capital murder crime equally culpable, even though it was Wood's friend who shot a store clerk. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP)
CORRECTS SPELLING OF FIRST NAME TO JEFFERY FROM JEFFREY - This undated photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows death row inmate Jeffery Wood. A Republican lawmaker in Texas says a bipartisan group of legislators will take the highly unusual step of urging the state to halt the execution of Wood, who didn't pull the trigger during a fatal 1996 robbery. Wood is scheduled to die by lethal injection Wednesday. He was convicted under a Texas law that makes a participant in a capital murder crime equally culpable, even though it was Wood's friend who shot a store clerk. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP) CORRECTS SPELLING OF FIRST NAME TO JEFFERY FROM JEFFREY - This undated photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows death row inmate Jeffery Wood. A Republican lawmaker in Texas says a bipartisan group of legislators will take the highly unusual step of urging the state to halt the execution of Wood, who didn't pull the trigger during a fatal 1996 robbery. Wood is scheduled to die by lethal injection Wednesday. He was convicted under a Texas law that makes a participant in a capital murder crime equally culpable, even though it was Wood's friend who shot a store clerk. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP)

By Associated Press 2 min read

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – A court on Friday halted the execution of a Texas man who was scheduled to die for a fatal 1996 robbery in which he wasn’t the person who pulled the trigger.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled 7-2 to put Jeffery Wood’s execution on hold. Wood, 43, was scheduled to die by lethal injection Wednesday.

The case has drawn highly unusual opposition from Republican lawmakers. It has captured attention across the U.S. over his culpability in the shooting of a convenience store clerk, Wood’s mental competence and criticism surrounding his original trial.

In a two-page opinion, the appeals court ruled 7-2 that the death sentence was based on false testimony and false scientific evidence.

One Republican legislator had formally asked the Texas Board of Pardon and Paroles to recommend commuting Wood’s death sentence, and Republican state Rep. Jeff Leach said he is collecting a bipartisan set of signatures for a similar letter to be sent this weekend.