Texas court halts Wednesday execution

AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has halted the scheduled Wednesday execution of a man who claims lethal injection is cruel and unconstitutional.

Late Tuesday, the court in Austin gave prosecutors 30 days to explain why Heliberto Chi, 28, should be given a lethal dose of drugs, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Chi was convicted of killing a store manager in Arlington, Texas, in 2001.

The ruling came a week after the U.S. Supreme Court said it would consider a similar challenge from Kentucky and then on Thursday, it ordered another Texas execution stayed, The New York Times said.

David Dow, a law professor at the University of Houston and also with the non-profit Texas Defender Service that worked on Chi’s appeal told the Times it appeared the state appeals court was following the Supreme Court's lead.

"Until the Court of Criminal Appeals addresses the questions raised in this case, there will be no more executions in Texas," Dow said.