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For the second time this month, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has halted an execution days before it was set to proceed.
Kwame Rockwell, 42, was set for execution Wednesday, Oct. 24. In a late appeal, his lawyers asked the high court to stop his execution, claiming he was incompetent for the punishment due to his schizophrenia. To be executed, an inmate must be able to understand his death is imminent and link it to the murder in which he was convicted.
Rockwell was convicted in the 2010 deaths of a gas station clerk and delivery man in Fort Worth, according to court records. Rockwell and two other men robbed the store and shot the two men, killing Daniel Rojas instantly and causing the death of Jerry Burnett 10 days later.
Though it wasn’t brought up at his trial, Rockwell was later diagnosed with schizophrenia in prison. His attorneys raised the issue in Tarrant County early this month, but the court ruled that Rockwell hadn’t shown a substantial doubt regarding his competency.
On Friday, a majority of the judges on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals disagreed, sending the case back to the trial court and ordering the judge to appoint at least two mental health experts and re-examine Rockwell’s competency for execution. Three judges, Sharon Keller, Michael Keasler and Barbary Hervey, voted to proceed with the execution.
"Mr. Rockwell is not competent for execution, which is why the state itself usually houses him in a psychiatric facility and prescribes him anti-psychotic medication," said Rockwell's lawyers, David Dow and Jeff Newberry, in a written statement after the stay of execution. "Mr. Rockwell has been diagnosed by both state and defense doctors as schizophrenic. His case of mental illness is severe and chronic."
On an early March morning in 2010, Rockwell and two other men, dressed in black and ski masks, entered the Valero gas station next to Rockwell’s used car business, according to a court opinion. Rockwell had decided to rob the gas station because he was in danger of losing his lease.
A co-defendant, Chance Smith — who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for the crime — testified at trial that Rockwell was the brains behind the operation and the one who was carrying the gun. He shot Burnett, the delivery man, in an aisle, and then, after taking money from the register and office, killed Rojas, the clerk, according to the opinion.
Rockwell was arrested in San Antonio four days later, when police barged into a convenience store bathroom he had barricaded himself in and found him threatening to kill himself with a broken piece of glass.
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals halts execution of Kwame Rockwell
and
RockwellKA_app_comp_op.pdf
And this was a bit interesting. It's from last year
FindLaw's United States Fifth Circuit case and opinions.
Kwame Rockwell, 42, was set for execution Wednesday, Oct. 24. In a late appeal, his lawyers asked the high court to stop his execution, claiming he was incompetent for the punishment due to his schizophrenia. To be executed, an inmate must be able to understand his death is imminent and link it to the murder in which he was convicted.
Rockwell was convicted in the 2010 deaths of a gas station clerk and delivery man in Fort Worth, according to court records. Rockwell and two other men robbed the store and shot the two men, killing Daniel Rojas instantly and causing the death of Jerry Burnett 10 days later.
Though it wasn’t brought up at his trial, Rockwell was later diagnosed with schizophrenia in prison. His attorneys raised the issue in Tarrant County early this month, but the court ruled that Rockwell hadn’t shown a substantial doubt regarding his competency.
On Friday, a majority of the judges on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals disagreed, sending the case back to the trial court and ordering the judge to appoint at least two mental health experts and re-examine Rockwell’s competency for execution. Three judges, Sharon Keller, Michael Keasler and Barbary Hervey, voted to proceed with the execution.
"Mr. Rockwell is not competent for execution, which is why the state itself usually houses him in a psychiatric facility and prescribes him anti-psychotic medication," said Rockwell's lawyers, David Dow and Jeff Newberry, in a written statement after the stay of execution. "Mr. Rockwell has been diagnosed by both state and defense doctors as schizophrenic. His case of mental illness is severe and chronic."
On an early March morning in 2010, Rockwell and two other men, dressed in black and ski masks, entered the Valero gas station next to Rockwell’s used car business, according to a court opinion. Rockwell had decided to rob the gas station because he was in danger of losing his lease.
A co-defendant, Chance Smith — who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for the crime — testified at trial that Rockwell was the brains behind the operation and the one who was carrying the gun. He shot Burnett, the delivery man, in an aisle, and then, after taking money from the register and office, killed Rojas, the clerk, according to the opinion.
Rockwell was arrested in San Antonio four days later, when police barged into a convenience store bathroom he had barricaded himself in and found him threatening to kill himself with a broken piece of glass.
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals halts execution of Kwame Rockwell
and
RockwellKA_app_comp_op.pdf
And this was a bit interesting. It's from last year
FindLaw's United States Fifth Circuit case and opinions.
