Inmate who ate his eye claims he is not mentally fit for execution

A Texas inmate awaiting execution not only made the decision to remove his eye, but also eat it. Oh and it was his ONLY eye which means now he has no eyes at all. 

Andre Thomas, 35, of Texoma, is currently on death row for the murder of 13-month-old Leyha Marie Hughes, his estranged wife's daughter. His estranged wife Laura Christine Boren, 20, and their son Andre Lee, 4, were also murdered in the same attack in March 2004. 

He told police God told him to commit the killings of the trio. The poor victims were stabbed and had their hearts ripped out. Thomas told police he put the hearts in his pocket, and took them home, where he placed them in a plastic bag and then threw them in the trash.

Thomas stabbed himself a few times before he walked to the Sherman Police Department and told police about the horrific things he had done. 

Thomas claims to suffer from mental illness and told federal appeals court he should not be considered for execution. His history of mental problems started long ago when he plucked out one eye just five days after his arrest for the murders. He ate that other eye in 2009 and is now at a prison psychiatric unit. 

In 2016, a federal judge rejected an appeal from Thomas and his attorneys, who then took their case to the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. 

In written filings before the arguments, attorney Catherine M.A. Carroll contended Thomas’ mental illness went undiagnosed and untreated “until after the delusions it caused led him to commit the crime here.”

The 5th Circuit Court heard their arguments Tuesday on whether appeals can move forward.

(Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP)


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