AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals halted the execution of a Texas man who waited in a pickup truck while his friend conducted a deadly robbery 20 years ago.
The Texas Tribune reports that Jeffery Wood was granted a stay of execution on his 43rd birthday on Friday, just six days before he was scheduled to be executed for the robbery in which he killed no one.
Wood was convicted for murder and sent to death row for waiting in a pickup truck as his friend Daniel Reneau shot and killed convenience store clerk Kriss Keeran during a robbery in Kerrville, Texas.
"The court did the right thing by staying Mr. Wood's execution," Wood's attorney Jared Tyler said. "[He] is grateful for the opportunity to prove that his death sentence is unwarranted."
The court issued a two-page order requesting Wood's case be sent back to the original trial court where his death sentence, but not his conviction, may be thrown out.
According to CNN, the order claimed "false and misleading testimony" presented by the prosecution's psychiatrist, as well as the resulting judgment violated due process because it was based on a "false psychiatric testimony concerning [Wood's] future dangerousness."
Wood's lawyers appealed that the psychiatrist Dr. James Grigson, nicknamed "Dr. Death" for his regular testimonies for the state in capital murder trials, misled the jury by omitting information he was ousted from the American Psychiatric Association and lied about how often he found defendants to pose a future danger.
Three juror's from Wood's original trial said they would have discounted Grigson's trial had they known he was expelled form the association.
Wood had previously been granted a stay of execution in 2008 as his sister, Terri Been, and his lawyer said he had a learning disability and an IQ of 80.
They argued that wood was unable to comprehend actions and words at an adult level.
"Even if Jeff learns something and can say it back right away, the next day he'll forget everything," Been said.
Wood's stay of execution will remain in place until the case is resolved, as the trial court conducts fact finding for the defense claims.
