Texas Criminal Appeals Court rejects appeal of death row inmate who says he has an MR diagnosis

From The AP:

The state's highest criminal appeals court on Oct. 7 rejected the appeal of death row inmate Bobby Wayne Woods, who attorneys contend is mentally disabled and ineligible for execution.

By an 8-1 vote, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that evidence of mental disability was insufficient to warrant a new trial for Woods.

Woods' attorneys had cited the testimony of a defense psychologist that he "is, and always has been, always will be, a mentally retarded person."

In a 44-page majority opinion, Judge Barbara Parker Hervey wrote that the defense expert did not personally interview or test Woods. Instead, the finding was based "on a review of various materials, including portions of a report of a non-testifying defense psychologist." That psychologist, also hired by the defense, did evaluate Woods personally and found him not to be mentally disabled.

Hours before Woods was to die Oct. 23, 2008, the appeals court halted the execution after his attorneys said they had new evidence to support their claims. No new execution date has been set.