The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) has granted a stay of execution for Tilon Carter. Originally scheduled to be executed on Tuesday, May 16, 2017, Carter has spent 11 years on death row for the 2004 robbery and murder of 89-year-old James Eldon Tomlin in Fort Worth.
The CCA granted the stay based on Carter’s new appeals that claim the prosecution presented false and misleading evidence. According to the appeal, testimony provided by Tarrant County medical examiner, Nizam Peerwani, led the jury to believe Tomlin died as a result of smothering. Jolie McCullough of the Texas Tribune reports, “Carter has maintained that he never intentionally killed Tomlin and was, therefore, ineligible for a death sentence.” Earlier this year, the CCA granted Carter a stay because the trial court missed the deadline to notify the Office of Capital and Forensic Writs of Carter’s execution date.
Read more about the case from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Texas Tribune.
This marks the fourth stay of 2017 and the third from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. There are no other executions scheduled in Texas for May. Earlier this month, Juan Castillo’s May 24 execution was rescheduled for September 7, 2017. The State of Texas has put four people to death this year. There are four executions scheduled in Texas through September.