A Texas court has stopped a second execution because of coronavirus, the Texas Tribune reports. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued a stay for next Wednesday’s scheduled execution of Tracy Beatty, a 59-year-old man convicted more than 15 years ago of killing his mother. Earlier this week, the same court halted the execution planned Wednesday for John Hummel for the same reason. “We have determined that the execution should be stayed at the present time in light of the current health crisis and the enormous resources needed to address that emergency,” the court said Thursday. The stay lasts for 60 days, after which a new execution date can be set.
Beatty’s attorney filed a motion to halt his execution shortly after the court stayed Hummel’s execution Monday, citing the “unprecedented proportions” of the pandemic. As in Hummel’s case, prosecutors opposed stopping the execution, however. Smith County District Attorney Jacob Putman said COVID-19 has not been shown to impact the state’s ability to carry out an execution. “There has been no evidence that the ‘enormous resources needed to address that emergency’ will also include the handful of … personnel who will carry out Beatty’s execution,” he wrote. Seven other executions are scheduled in Texas through September, with two set in April.