The man on death row was found in his cell covered in blood after he gouged out both of his eyes in a bid to avoid execution after he believed God told him to carry out a triple murder
A death row inmate who butchered his wife and children before cutting out both their hearts has gouged out his own eyes and devoured them in a frantic bid to dodge execution.
Andre Thomas received his death sentence in 2005, but his execution was delayed after he tore out his own eyeballs.
Thomas was discovered bloodied in his cell ahead of his court appearance in 2004, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
In a separate incident, the man clawed out his remaining eye and consumed it, leaving him completely sightless.
His legal team claimed he believed the self-mutilation would prevent the authorities from reading his mind, reports the Mirror.
The 39-year-old remains locked up in Texas for the triple killing he carried out and has admitted to.
He confessed to slaying his estranged wife, Laura Christine Boren, his four year old son and Boren’s 13-month-old daughter.
Thomas told officers God had commanded him to carry out the murders and that he believed the trio were demons.
He also carved out the hearts of both youngsters, Associated Press reported.
Following his 2005 conviction, he automatically received the death penalty. His execution was scheduled for April 5, 2023.
Agency spokesman Jason Clark said: “Thomas said he pulled out his eye and subsequently ingested it.”
In March 2023, Judge Jim Fallon revoked Thomas’ execution warrant, following a request from his legal team for more time to assess his mental health and determine if he met the competency criteria for capital punishment.
The Supreme Court maintains that while capital punishment is not unlawful for individuals with severe mental disorders, the person must be deemed competent.
Thomas’ lawyer, Marie Levin, stated in a release: “We are confident that when we present the evidence of Mr. Thomas’s incompetence, the court will agree that executing him would violate the Constitution.
“Guiding this blind psychotic man to the gurney for execution offends our sense of humanity and serves no legitimate purpose.”
Levin described Thomas as “one of the most mentally ill prisoners in Texas history … not competent to be executed, lacking a rational understanding of the state’s reason for his execution.”
After consuming his first eyeball, Thomas received treatment at a medical facility before being moved to a prison psychiatric ward.
His trial lawyer, Bobbie Peterson-Cate, expressed relief that he would “finally be able to receive the mental health care that we had wanted and begged for from day 1.”
In March 2023, over 100 faith leaders and others pleaded for mercy to halt his execution. However, J.
Kerye Ashmore from the Grayson County District Attorney’s Office, who led the prosecution, claimed they knew “nothing about the case” and hadn’t reviewed any reports or assessments of his mental condition.
Thomas continues to languish on death row.
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