AUSTIN – A longtime Texas death row inmate could get another chance to avoid execution after an appeals court on Wednesday granted a rare reconsideration of an earlier decision.

The Court of Criminal Appeals agreed to reconsider whether jurors who sentenced Gene Wilford Hathorn Jr. were properly instructed on how to consider potential mitigating evidence that he was abused as a child. The same court had rejected the claims last month.

Mr. Hathorn, 47, and his co-worker at Rusk State Hospital, James Beathard, were sentenced to die for a 1984 rampage that killed Mr. Hathorn's father, stepmother and half-brother in Trinity County. Mr. Beathard was executed in 1999.

Court records indicated Mr. Hathorn supplied Mr. Beathard with illegal drugs for him to sell on commission. They also show that, during their friendship, Mr. Hathorn talked of his desire to kill Gene Hathorn Sr., Linda Hathorn and 14-year-old Marcus Hathorn.

Mr. Hathorn hoped to collect an inheritance from his father and offered to share it with Mr. Beathard, not knowing that his father had recently cut him out of his will.

David Sergi, Mr. Hathorn's appeals attorney, said the appeal is not an attempt to overturn his conviction, but to avoid execution.

"He's always admitted that he was guilty of murdering his parents, but that his father had abused him mentally and physically over the years and that he one day snapped at the abuse," Mr. Sergi said.

Mr. Hathorn is one of the longest-serving Texas death row inmates. The appeals court acknowledged in its order that it was taking an "unusual step of reconsidering on our own initiative" and ordered Mr. Hathorn's attorneys and the state to file briefs within 60 days.

The Associated Press

Print

E-mail this article

Forums

Check Screen Name Availability

Screen names can only consist of letters and numbers.

---

Leave Comment

Conversation guidelines: We welcome your thoughts and information related to this article. When leaving comments please stay on topic and be respectful of others.

You must be logged in to contribute. Log in | Register Now!

You are logged in as screenname | Log Out

You are logged in, but do not have a "screen" name. Update Your Profile

Showing:

Newest first Oldest first

---