Court Delays Execution of Texas Man Just Days Before Scheduled Lethal Injection

AUSTIN, Texas—On Tuesday, a Texas appeals court temporarily halted the execution of a man who has spent over 30 years on death row, which was scheduled to occur this week following the murders of six girls and young women whose bodies were discovered buried in the desert near El Paso.

This execution was the second in the U.S. to be stopped on Tuesday, following a federal judge’s intervention to halt Louisiana’s first death row execution by nitrogen gas, set for next week.

In Texas, the order provided another reprieve for David Leonard Wood, who was almost executed in 2009, just 24 hours before his execution date, due to claims of intellectual disability that deemed him ineligible for execution.

Although those claims were subsequently dismissed by a judge, Wood, now 67, was slated to be executed on Thursday. However, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state’s highest criminal court, issued a stay of execution following his latest appeal, which reiterated his assertions of innocence.

The court has postponed Wood’s execution “until further order,” without providing additional details in a brief, three-page ruling.

If Wood had been executed this week, he would have surpassed 32 years and two months on Texas’ death row, marking the longest duration any inmate in Texas has waited before execution.

The 1987 murders remained a mystery for several years until authorities claim Wood made incriminating remarks to a cellmate, identifying himself as the “Desert Killer.” The victims were discovered in shallow graves throughout the same desert region northeast of El Paso.

Law enforcement alleges that Wood provided rides to the victims before driving them into the desert to sexually assault and murder them. The identified victims included Rosa Casio and Ivy Williams, both 23; Karen Baker, 21; Angelica Frausto, 17; Desiree Wheatley, 15; and Dawn Smith, 14.

Additionally, two other girls and a young woman were reported missing but remain unaccounted for.

Wood, a repeat sex offender who had a background as a mechanic, has consistently maintained his innocence.

“I did not do it. I am innocent of this case. I’m going to fight it,” Wood stated in recent appeals documents.

On March 4, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied a request to either commute his death sentence or provide a 90-day reprieve.

For years, his lawyers have pursued DNA testing on hundreds of pieces of evidence. In 2011, testing on blood found on Smith’s clothing revealed a male DNA profile that did not match Wood. However, the Texas Attorney General’s Office has opposed further DNA tests, and various courts have denied Wood’s requests.

Before the court’s decision on Tuesday, attorney Gregory Wiercioch noted that when authorities targeted Wood as a suspect, they concentrated on him rather than the existing evidence.

“We’ve made it clear to the courts that he is innocent, and we hope someone will listen,” Wiercioch expressed.