Appeals court stops planned execution of Texas inmate convicted of killing a fellow prisoner

By JUAN A. LOZANO
Associated Press

HOUSTON (AP) — Texas’ top criminal appeals court has stopped the scheduled execution of a Texas inmate who had been condemned for killing another prisoner more than 26 years ago. William Speer had been set to receive a lethal injection Thursday evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. The victim’s sister and religious leaders had recently asked authorities to spare his life. With less than five hours to go, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted a request by Speer’s attorneys to stop the planned execution because of allegations of prosecutorial misconduct at his trial. Speer was convicted of the strangling death of inmate Gary Dickerson in July 1997 at a northeast Texas prison.