Andre Harris & Tori Vega in Every Scene 1x03 “Stage Fighting”
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Andre Harris & Tori Vega in Every Scene 1x03 “Stage Fighting”
At issue is whether Thomas, who gouged out his eyes after confessing to the 2004 murders of his estranged wife, their son and her daughter,
A clemency petition for death row inmate Andre Thomas was filed Wednesday asking that Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles commute the blind 39-year-old’s sentence to life in prison or grant a reprieve to determine if Thomas is competent to be executed this year. Attached to the clemency petition were letters of support from dozens of Texas mental health professionals and more than 100 Texas faith leaders. Thomas, who first began experiencing hallucinations as a child, is facing an April 5 execution date. “We are united in our conviction that it would be a senseless act of vengeance,” Rev. Dr. Jaime Kowlessar, senior pastor of Dallas City Temple, said during a news conference Wednesday. “The answer to violence is never more violence.”
The Struggle for Sanity - Andre Thomas
The execution of the mentally ill violates the eighth amendment on cruel and unusual punishment. But what constitutes as mentally ill in the eyes of the law? How “insane” does somebody have to be to avoid execution?
Believing they were the embodiment of the Antichrist and pure evil, Andre Thomas murdered his estranged wife, their son, and her daughter. After his arrest, he plucked out his eyeballs with his own hands and consumed one. He thought this would prevent the government from reading his thoughts.
He was sentenced to die.
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Andre Thomas is scheduled to be executed in April.
“‘One of the Most Mentally Ill’ Inmates in Texas Is About to Be Executed” by Staff Writer Michelle Pitcher:
The idea that someone can be too mentally ill to be executed is gaining traction in Texas, where the legislature is considering HB 727, which would exempt people with severe mental illness—including schizophrenia or bipolar disorder—from being sentenced to death. But while signaling a more clear-eyed view of mental health and the criminal justice system, the bill would not provide retroactive relief for some Texas prisoners, including one man whose execution date looms.
On April 5, the State of Texas plans to execute Andre Thomas, who was sentenced to death in 2005 at the age of 21 after he murdered his estranged wife, Laura Boren, their four-year-old son Andre Jr., and Boren’s 13-month old daughter, Leyha Hughes. Thomas, who had suffered from hallucinations and suicidal ideation since he was a child, was convinced the three were working with the devil. The act was ritualistic: He used a different knife for each victim to avoid cross-contaminating their blood, and he removed some of their organs. He then stabbed himself in the chest in an unsuccessful attempt to take his own life.
Thomas, a Black man, was convicted of Leyha’s murder by an all-white jury in 2005 and sentenced to death, despite a mountain of mitigating evidence that, if presented by the defense, could have altered the outcome.
“There’s no one in the modern history of the death penalty, I believe, who is as mentally ill as Mr. Thomas,” said Maurie Levin, who’s represented Thomas for over a decade. “The spectacle of him being led to the gurney—blind and psychotic—is not one that I would think even Texas or Governor [Greg] Abbott would want to endorse.”
The deck was stacked against Thomas at trial: Multiple jurors had openly expressed racist beliefs during jury selection. The prosecutor leaned on this during the trial, asking the jury to impose the death penalty so Thomas didn’t date one of their daughters next.
Read more at the Texas Observer.
Disregarded by The Law: Andre Thomas
Disregarded by The Law: Andre Thomas
I first heard about this case from my favorite true-crime podcast True Crime All The Time on Spotify. Shout out to the hosts Mike Ferguson and Mike Gibson. This case fascinated me when I first heard about it and I thought it would be a great first case for my new segment “Disregarded by the Law”. In this segment, I want to focus on people that may not have been victims in their cases but were…
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Disregarded by The Law: Andre Thomas
Disregarded by The Law: Andre Thomas
I first heard about this case from my favorite true-crime podcast True Crime All The Time on Spotify. Shout out to the hosts Mike Ferguson and Mike Gibson. This case fascinated me when I first heard about it and I thought it would be a great first case for my new segment “Disregarded by the Law”. In this segment, I want to focus on people that may not have been victims in their cases but were…
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No Matter What
Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do. ~Benjamin Spock If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped…
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Triseum starts pilot test for Variant: Limits calculus game
Triseum is announcing today that Variant: Limits, the first game in a series that teaches students how to learn calculus in a fun way, is launching its pilot program test in selected schools. Variant: Limits, our new 3D adventure game that teaches calculus concepts focused on limits. Calculus is critical for science, technology, engineering and math […] https://goo.gl/WJKWfu #Playistic