Dylan Murray
Warning: This article contains descriptions of self-harm which some readers may find distressing.
A death row inmate's execution date was delayed by a judge after he'd gouged out both of his eyes due to severe mental illness.
Andre Thomas is a 39-year-old, who is currently imprisoned in Texas for a triple murder he committed and confessed to back in 2004.
Thomas confessed that he'd murdered his estranged wife, Laura Christine Boren, his 4-year-old son and Boren's 13-month-old daughter.
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He later told police that God had told him to commit the murders and that he'd believed the three of them were demons.
Thomas also removed the hearts of both children, Associated Press reports.
He was found guilty the following year and was automatically given the death penalty, scheduled to be executed on April 5, 2023.
While in jail, Thomas pulled out one of his eyeballs before his trial in 2004, with a death-row officer finding him in his cell covered in blood, as per The San Diego Union-Tribune.
An agency spokesperson, Jason Clark, said: "Thomas said he pulled out his eye and subsequently ingested it."
According to Thomas' attorneys, he gouged out and ingested his second eye in a separate incident - leaving him blind - so that the government couldn't hear his thoughts.
In March 2023, Judge Jim Fallon issued an order withdrawing Thomas' warrant of execution, which came after Thomas' lawyers asked for additional time to review his competency, which, if found to be sufficient enough, experts would be appointed to examine him as the judge would review other evidence before his final decision.
According to The Supreme Court, while the death penalty is not illegal for those with severe mental illnesses, it rules that a person must be competent.
Marie Levin, Thomas' attorney, wrote in a statement: "We are confident that when we present the evidence of Mr. Thomas’s incompetence, the court will agree that executing him would violate the Constitution.
"Guiding this blind psychotic man to the gurney for execution offends our sense of humanity and serves no legitimate purpose."
Levin also called Thomas 'one of the most mentally ill prisoners in Texas history … not competent to be executed, lacking a rational understanding of the state’s reason for his execution'.
After the first incident, Thomas was treated at a medical center before being transferred to the Jester Unit, a prison psychiatric ward near Richmond - where his trial attorney, Bobbie Peterson-Cate, said he would 'finally be able to receive the mental health care that we had wanted and begged for from day 1'.
In March 2023, a call for clemency was issued by more than 100 faith leaders amongst others to stop his execution, however, J. Kerye Ashmore, with the Grayson County District Attorney’s Office who prosecuted the case, said they know 'nothing about the case' and had not read any reports or evaluations regarding his mental state.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 to reach a 24-hour crisis center or you can webchat at 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.