Fifth Circuit stays execution of Texas inmate alleged to be 'intellectually disabled'

Today, the Fifth Circuit stayed Texas's scheduled execution of Robert James Campbell for the 1992 rape and murder of a 20-year-old woman. Campbell's attorneys claim the state can't execute him because he's "intellectually disabled," proof of which state officials allegedly concealed. If true, according to SCOTUS precedent, the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishments prevents Campbell's execution. As WaPo's Mark Berman and Karen Brooks Harper report:

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans ruled Tuesday afternoon that the execution be stayed, saying that although it was regrettable that it took until “the eleventh hour” for the court to review evidence of the inmate’s intellectual disability, that was not the fault of Campbell or his attorneys.

 

“Because of the unique circumstances of this case, Campbell and his attorneys have not had a fair opportunity to develop Campbell’s claim of ineligibility for the death penalty,” Judge James L. Dennis wrote for the court. “In light of the evidence we have been shown, we believe that Campbell must be given such an opportunity.”

 

It’s unclear how long the execution will be stayed. There is no set time for the stay, said Jason Clark, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Campbell's attorneys also have appealed Texas's secrecy as to pharmacy providing the killing drug, which purportedly presents a substantial risk that it could cause Campbell excruciating physical and mental pain. Last month, state officials halted Clayton Lockett's execution in Oklahoma after he appeared distressed, but he died of a heart attack 43 minutes after the procedure began. Unlike Oklahoma's three-drug cocktail, however, Texas only uses pentobaritral, which state officials claim has killed efficiently since its adoption two years ago.