A Panhandle killer was due to be executed tonight but a judge in Potter County recalled the execution date for John Balentine.
However the state asked theTexas Court of Criminal Appeals to reinstate tonight's execution, and as of Tuesday night, the Court had not decided.
In 1998, three Amarillo teenagers were shot execution style in their beds. The next year, Balentine was convicted of the crime and condemned to die.
Although Balentine confessed, his current lawyers claim racism pervaded the trial, leading jurors to hand down the death penalty rather than life in prison. Balentine is black and the victims were white.
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