Appeals court delays Texas execution of inmate who shot, killed an 80-year-old during a carjacking

Texas Execution Delayed Due to DNA Testing Request

A Texas inmate’s scheduled execution for the murder of an elderly woman has been postponed. Jedidiah Murphy, 48, was set to receive a lethal injection for the 2000 death of Bertie Lee Cunningham during a carjacking in Garland, Texas. However, a federal judge ordered a stay on his execution after his lawyers filed a lawsuit seeking DNA testing related to his 2001 trial.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld this order, stating that it’s appropriate to delay the execution until a decision in a similar case is reached. The Texas Attorney General’s Office had attempted to overturn the stay order, but no immediate response was given regarding an appeal.

Murphy’s legal team has questioned the evidence of two robberies and a kidnapping used during his trial’s punishment phase to justify a death sentence. While Murphy admitted to the murder, he denied involvement in these other crimes. His attorneys believe DNA testing can exonerate him from the additional charges.

U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pitman, who granted the stay, noted that the absence of this evidence might have influenced the jury’s decision during the punishment phase. Texas prosecutors, however, argue against the DNA testing, contending that state law only allows it for evidence related to guilt or innocence, not sentencing.

Murphy’s execution, if carried out as scheduled, would have fallen on World Day Against the Death Penalty, an annual advocacy day for death penalty opponents. Murphy, who expressed remorse for his crime, has faced a history of mental illness, childhood abuse, and a life in foster care.

Despite another claim related to the safety of execution drugs, a separate order denied this request, as test results showed the drugs to be “potent and sterile.”