The scheduled execution date is delayed for the man condemned for the 2004 suffocation of a retired 77-year-old TCU professor.
Edward Lee Busby's execution had been set for May 6, but it was stayed for 60 days by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Monday.
It is Texas' sixth execution to have been delayed because of the spread of coronavirus around the state.
Busby was convicted of the slaying of 77-year-old Laura Lee Crane, who was abducted from a Fort Worth grocery store parking lot and later found dead in Oklahoma.
While the appeals court didn't mention COVID-19 in its order, Busby's attorneys had argued the execution should be delayed because they and others, including judges and personnel who carry out the execution, could be put at risk for getting the virus if it proceeded.
Three other executions that had been scheduled this year were also delayed by the appeals court while two others were delayed by local judges.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death. The vast majority of people recover.
