Court Rules 2 Prisoners Ineligible for Execution
From Staff and Wire Reports
The state Court of Criminal Appeals ordered two convicted murderers removed from death row, ruling in Austin that they were mentally retarded and ineligible for execution.
The court ordered the sentences for Walter Bell Jr. and Alberto Valdez reduced to life in prison. Bell, 50, has been on death row for 29 years, longer than any other Texas prisoner. Valdez, 49, has been on death row since his conviction in 1987.
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