Attorneys for a Texas death row inmate who removed his only eye and ate it in a bizarre outburst several years ago are arguing to a federal appeals court that he's too mentally ill to be executed.
Lawyers for Andre Thomas also contend his trial attorneys were deficient when a North Texas jury in 2005 convicted him of killing his estranged wife's 13-month old daughter.
His estranged wife and their 4-year-old son also were murdered in the March 2004 attack about 60 miles north of Dallas. All three were stabbed and their hearts ripped out.
A federal judge in 2016 rejected Thomas' appeal and his attorneys took their case to the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for arguments Tuesday on whether appeals can move forward.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
