Posted 8:57 pm Monday, April 23, 2012
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Man Set To Die for 2002 East Texas Shooting, Abductions Granted Reprieve
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A 29-year-old convict set to die this week for a fatal shooting during the robbery and abductions at an East Texas convenience store has won a reprieve from a federal judge.
Beunka Adams was set for lethal injection Thursday evening in Huntsville for the September 2002 slaying of 37-year-old Kenneth Vandever outside Rusk. Vandever and two women were abducted during the robbery, one of the women was raped, and all three were shot. The women survived.
Lawyers for Adams convinced U.S. District Judge Michael Schneider in Texarkana that the execution should be delayed until the courts review allegations that Adams had poor legal help in the early stages of his appeals.
It’s unclear if the Texas Attorney General's office would or could appeal Monday’s ruling.
Beunka Adams was set for lethal injection Thursday evening in Huntsville for the September 2002 slaying of 37-year-old Kenneth Vandever outside Rusk. Vandever and two women were abducted during the robbery, one of the women was raped, and all three were shot. The women survived.
Lawyers for Adams convinced U.S. District Judge Michael Schneider in Texarkana that the execution should be delayed until the courts review allegations that Adams had poor legal help in the early stages of his appeals.
It’s unclear if the Texas Attorney General's office would or could appeal Monday’s ruling.
