Texas Court Halts Execution After Parents Seek Mercy for Their Son's Killer

AUSTIN -- Texas' top criminal court on Friday halted the scheduled execution of Paul Storey after the parents of the man he killed said they did not want him to die.The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals sent Storey's case back to a lower court for review and halted his execution, which had been scheduled for Wednesday.Paul Storey was convicted of the 2006 murder of Jonas Cherry during a robbery and a Hurst putt-putt golf park. His accomplice, Dewayne Porter pleaded guilty and received a life sentence. Storey was offered the same plea deal as Porter, but he chose to go to trial and was sentenced to death. His lawyers, in an appeal filed Friday, contend that Tarrant County prosecutors told jurors that the Cherry family wanted Storey to be executed, despite knowing they opposed the death penalty.In a video released this week, Judith and Glenn Cherry pleaded with prosecutors and Gov. Greg Abbott to stop Storey's execution."It pains us to think that due to our son's death, another person will be purposefully put to death," Judith Cherry said in the video. "Also motivating us is that we do not want Paul Storey's family, especially his mother and grandmother, if she is still alive, to witness the purposeful execution of their son. They are innocent of his deeds."  Continue reading...