An inmate convicted of killing three teenagers while they slept in a Texas Panhandle home more than 25 years ago is facing execution amid allegations that his trial was marred by racial bias
FILE - This booking photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Texas death row inmate John Balentine, who was convicted of killing three teenagers while they slept in a Texas Panhandle home more than 25 years ago. Balentine was set to receive a lethal injection at the state prison in Huntsville, Texas, on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023, but on Tuesday, Jan.
Balentine's attorneys have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the execution so that his claims of racial bias during his trial can be properly reviewed. His lawyers have also asked Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to grant a temporary reprieve. The appeals court denied a request from Balentine’s lawyers to stay his execution over allegations that “racism and racial issues pervaded” his trial. The appeals court denied the stay request on procedural grounds without reviewing the merits of the claims.
In a declaration he gave before his death in 2021, England said he pushed for a death sentence because he worried if Balentine was ever released, he “would need to hunt him down.” “Without a thorough judicial consideration of Mr. Balentine’s claims, we can have no confidence that the death verdict isn’t tainted by racial bias,” Nolan said.
“I think he got a fair trial," Sherrod said. “I think we had a good jury ... We tried to help John whatever way we could.”
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