HOUSTON – A federal judge has refused to halt next week's scheduled execution of a Texas prisoner who attorneys say is too sick for a lethal injection.
Lawyers for 66-year-old Danny Paul Bible argue his multiple ailments mean a suitable vein is unlikely to be found for an IV and that his lethal injection would cause unconstitutional pain.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt ruled Thursday the arguments were speculative and attorneys had years to bring up similar claims instead of waiting until his punishment neared. Bible's lawyers suggested Texas switch to a firing squad or use nitrogen gas to execute him. Hoyt says that's not feasible.
Bible is set to die Wednesday for the 1979 slaying of a 20-year-old Houston woman, Inez Deaton. He's confessed to killing her and three other people.
