A federal judge has joined Texas' top criminal court in refusing to stop this week's scheduled execution of a woman condemned for the torture slaying of a mentally impaired man more than 15 years ago outside Houston.
U.S. District Judge Sim Lake on Monday turned down an appeal from 59-year-old Suzanne Basso hours after Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected a similar appeal.
Basso is set for lethal injection Wednesday evening in Huntsville.
Basso's attorney contends she is mentally incompetent for execution for the slaying of 59-year-old Louis "Buddy" Musso.
Additional appeals to delay her punishment are likely headed into the federal appeals courts.
Basso would be the 14th woman executed in the U.S. and the fifth in Texas since the Supreme Court in 1976 allowed capital punishment to resume.
