WASHINGTON, 02 MAG - La Corte Suprema degli Stati Uniti ha bloccato, a meno di tre ore dall'ora X, l'esecuzione di un uomo condannato a morte per avere ucciso tre persone.  La Corte Suprema ha sospeso l'esecuzione di Curtis Moore perche' intende rivederne il caso. Gli avvocati dell'omicida sostengono che Moore e' mentalmente ritardato, mentre l'accusa replica che il problema della capacita' d'intendere e di volere di Moore non era mai stato sollevato durante il processo.

   La Corte Suprema degli Stati Uniti sta attualmente valutando, sulla scorta di un caso della Virginia, la costituzionalita' della pena di morte per i ritardati di mente.

   Quella di Moore era una delle nove esecuzioni programmate questo mese in Texas.

TEXAS - Stay of execution

MAY 1, 2001

Supreme Court halts execution of Fort Worth killer

Less than 3 hours before he was to have been put to death today, the U.S. Supreme Court halted the execution of a Texas parolee convicted of killing 3 people in a drug-ripoff robbery some 7 years ago in Fort Worth.

Curtis Moore, 34, already was in a small holding cell adjacent to the death chamber at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice when he received word the high court had given him a reprieve.

He immediately was removed and returned to death row at the Polunsky Unit, about 45 miles to the east.

 There was no word from prison officials of his reaction.

 Attorneys had been attempting to show Moore was mentally retarded and cited a Virginia case now before the Supreme Court as reason why they should look at Moore's case. The Virginia case questions the constitutionality of executed the mentally retarded.

 State prosecutors questioned why the issue should surface now because Moore's mental ability had never before been an issue and was not addressed at his trial in Fort Worth.

 The petition for the reprieve was filed to Justice Antonin Scalia, who referred it to the entire court. It will remain in effect indefinitely until the court decides whether to review Moore's case. If the court refuses to review the case, the reprieve automatically is canceled and a new execution date could be set.

 A decision in the Virginia case is expected before July.

 Moore would have been the 2nd Texas inmate to die in as many days and the 11th this year. At least 7 other condemned Texas prisoners are scheduled for lethal injection this month, including 2 more next week.

 Moore already had an extensive juvenile record when in 1985 he received six years for robbery but was released 9 months later under mandatory supervision during a time when Texas was known for a revolving door criminal justice system because of a lack of prison space. He was convicted three more times over the next 10 years and was paroled after short stays in prison.

 He was arrested for capital murder for killing t3 people in a pair of shootings Nov. 30, 1995.

 Roderick Moore, 24, no relation to the inmate, and LaTanya Boone, 21, both of Fort Worth, were found shot to death in a roadside ditch across from a Fort Worth elementary school.

 The same night, Darrel Hoyle, then 21, and from Fort Worth, and Henry Truevillain Jr., 20, of Forest Hill, were found shot and burned. Hoyle, however, survived his wounds and helped lead police to the arrest of Curtis Moore and his nephew, Anthony Moore, who then was 17.

 The 3 men were abducted after agreeing to meet Curtis Moore and his nephew at a stable where Roderick Moore boarded and trained horses. Then Boone was abducted from the apartment she shared with Roderick Moore, her boyfriend.

 Testimony at Curtis Moore's trial showed the shootings culminated a drug rip-off robbery, that he doused Hoyle and Truevillain with gasoline and ignited them as they were bound and in the trunk of a car parked in a deserted lot outside a club.

 Hoyle regained consciousness 6 days after he was attacked and gave information that led authorities to Anthony Moore. Curtis Moore was arrested about 2 weeks later.

 Anthony Moore, now 23, pleaded guilty to 2 counts of murder under a plea agreement and is serving2o life prison sentences.