HOUSTON (AP) - The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has refused an appeal from a 41-year-old Ector County man sent to death row for the 1994 slayings of his neighbors in Odessa during a burglary of their home.
The state's highest criminal court said Wednesday Michael Dean Gonzales' appeal was improperly filed and rejected it without considering its merits.
Gonzales was convicted of fatally stabbing 73-year-old Manuel Aguirre and his 65-year-old wife, Merced. Gonzales' death sentence later was thrown out because of improper trial testimony from a prison psychologist. He was returned to death row after a new punishment trial.
Court documents show Gonzales had asked no more appeals be filed and no attorneys appointed for him, although court files show he now has an active appeal in the federal courts.
