A man set for execution next month is appealing a judge's ruling last week that he's mentally competent to be executed for fatally shooting his two young daughters more than 15 years ago in Dallas while their mother listened helplessly over the phone.
John David Battaglia has asked the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state's highest criminal court, to halt his scheduled Dec. 7 lethal injection in Huntsville.
State District Judge Robert Burns last week ruled Battaglia was faking delusions that could make him ineligible for the death penalty under U.S. Supreme Court rulings.
Battaglia's attorney, Michael Mowla, says in his appeal that Burns' ruling was "unsupported and incorrect." He wants the execution stopped so the state appeals court or a federal court can review the competency ruling.
