The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued a stay of execution for 25-year-old Napoleon Beazley, who was scheduled to die by lethal injection last night for a 1994 murder, court officials have said.
Reading from the ruling, the court clerk said Beazley has challenged "the validity of his conviction and resulting sentences.
"Upon due consideration, we grant applicant's request for a stay of execution. We take no action on the application," the court said. "Applicant is granted a stay of execution pending further orders by this court." Beazley was scheduled to die at midnight Irish time.
The case has drawn international outrage because Beazley was a teenager when he killed his victim, a 63-year-man, while trying to steal his car. The case has also divided the US Supreme Court, drawn protests from death penalty opponents and led to renewed criticism about the criminal justice system of Texas.
Beazley was convicted of murdering John Luttig, a prominent businessman whose son, Michael, is an appeals court judge. Luttig and his wife had just returned to their home when he was shot in front of the house.
Testimony at Beazley's trial showed he stood in a pool of blood while going through Luttig's pockets, searching for the car keys. He abandoned the car a short distance away after hitting a wall, damaging the vehicle. Beazley also fired at the victim's wife. He missed, but she played dead while her husband lay beside her.
"This was a random predatory type act," said Mr Jack Skeen, the district lawyer who prosecuted the case. "Clearly, he's an adult under Texas law and the death penalty is certainly appropriate in this case." Death penalty opponents from around the world inundated Mr Skeen with letters and cards protesting the execution. The EU, through the Belgian embassy in Washington, urged Governor Rick Perry to stop the execution.
Council of Europe leaders made an urgent appeal to Governor Perry last night to spare Beazley's life. "We call on you to show restraint in the case of Napoleon Beazley whose life now depends entirely on your decision," the Council of Europe President, Lord Russell-Johnston, and Mr Walter Schwimmer, Secretary-General of the Council, said.
Amnesty International, using the Beazley case as a springboard, issued a report critical of the US for allowing executions in such cases. Beazley does not deny his role in the murder but has sought a review of his case, including the question of whether the US constitution bars executing people who were under 18 when they committed their crimes. In Texas, a capital murder committed at 17 makes an offender eligible for the death penalty.