Appeals Court Orders Texas To Hold Off On Execution Of Scott Panetti

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WASHINGTON -- Less than 12 hours before the state of Texas was set to execute Scott Panetti, an appeals court issued a stay Wednesday afternoon, meaning that Panetti's lawyers will have another chance to argue that giving their client the death penalty would be unconstitutional.

Panetti, 56, is on death row for the 1992 murder of his in-laws, whom he killed while his wife and daughter were watching. He has suffered from schizophrenia and other mental illnesses for over 30 years and been hospitalized more than a dozen times.

This is a breaking news story and will continue to be updated.

Panetti's execution was scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CST Wednesday. His suppoters, however, have been arguing that Panetti's sentence should be reduced to life in sentence because killing him would violate the Eighth Amendment, which bars cruel and unusual punishment.

His lawyers will now have another chance to argue their case. As BuzzFeed reported, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay of execution Wednesday morning 'to allow us to fully consider the late arriving and complex legal questions at issue in this matter.' The court said it will be setting a schedule for oral arguments soon.