U.S. Appeals Court Blocks Nevada Execution

A federal appeals court issued a stay late Thursday just 90 minutes before the scheduled execution of a condemned killer who had wanted no further appeals.

Thomas Baal, 26, had been scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection at 12:05 a.m. Friday for stabbing a bus driver to death in Las Vegas.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled 2-1 that the execution should be stayed until noon today to get more information from U.S. District Judge Howard McKibben, who earlier ruled against a stay. Justice Alex Kozinski dissented.

Baal’s parents had petitioned McKibben for the stay, citing their son’s long-term mental problems and possible brain damage.

Justice Harry Pregerson questioned whether Baal’s competence hearing had properly focused on whether he could make a rational decision to give up his appeal rights if he was suffering from a brain disorder, disease or defect.

Baal was sentenced to die for stabbing bus driver Frances Maves to death in 1988 as she resisted his robbery attempt. His execution would be Nevada’s fifth and the 129th nationally since the 1976 U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing states to resume use of the death penalty.