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Judge Delays Execution for Inmate Who Gouged Out His Own Eyes—and Ate One

Andre Thomas, 39, was set to be executed next month for killing his estranged wife and two children in a psychotic episode that he said was ordered by God.

A Texas judge indefinitely postponed the scheduled execution date of a severely mentally ill man convicted of stabbing three people to death in 2004—after several recent incidents drew into question the man’s competency. Andre Thomas, now 39, was set to be executed next month, on April 5, for killing his estranged wife, their son, and her daughter in a psychotic episode that he said was ordered by God. During two separate incidents while in prison, Thomas gouged out both of his eyes—the second time eating his eye in an attempt to stop the government from hearing his thoughts, authorities said. He is now severely medicated, and his lawyers are preparing for a court hearing to review his competency, which they hope will take his name off death row for good. “Guiding this blind psychotic man to the gurney for execution offends our sense of humanity and serves no legitimate purpose,” Maurie Levin, an attorney for Andre Thomas, told The Daily Beast in a statement.