WASHINGTON (AFP) — A planned Texas execution could be put on hold after a court on Monday ordered testimony from the judge and the prosecutor in the original trial over allegations they had a romantic relationship at the time.
Charles Dean Hood, 39, has appealed his 1990 double homicide conviction, saying in court documents that because of the alleged romantic liaison between judge Verla Sue Holland and prosecutor Thomas O'Connell, his "rights to an impartial judge and a fair trial were violated."
Hood is still scheduled to be put to death on Wednesday, but the court's move could result in delaying the execution, and even possibly lead to a new trial for the murders. Holland and O'Connell were due to testify Monday and Tuesday in the case.
The court originally had set a hearing on the alleged courtroom romance for September 12 -- two days after Hood's original September 10 execution date -- sparking an outcry from civil rights activists.
Last week, 22 US judges urged Texas Governor Rick Perry to delay Hood's execution, insisting that "justice cannot be served unless the courts are able to consider whether Mr. Hood's conviction and sentence are invalid," they wrote.
"We have no doubt that this relationship would have had a significant impact on the ability of the judicial system to accord Mr. Hood a fair and impartial trial," the judges wrote to the Texas governor last week.
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