HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — Attorneys for a Texas prisoner facing execution this week for killing a woman in Dallas in 1999 are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to halt his punishment after the top Texas criminal court refused to consider their appeal.
Lawyers for 64-year-old William Rayford say his execution set for Tuesday evening in Huntsville should be halted so the high court can review whether his trial lawyer during questioning of a witness improperly introduced race as a possible factor jurors could have considered when they decided Rayford, who is black, should die for killing his ex-girlfriend Carol Lynn Thomas Hall.