Fredericksburg Standard

Posted: Wednesday, Feb 04, 2004 - 04:39:51 pm CST

One day away from his scheduled death by lethal injection in Huntsville for murdering his in-laws in 1992, Fredericksburg resident Scott Louis Panetti, 45, on Wednesday afternoon won a 60-day stay of execution.

The decision came from U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks in Austin.

Reportedly, Sparks issued the order after a pro bono psychiatrist examined Panetti on death row where the convicted murderer was awaiting his scheduled execution after 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5.

Sources said the psychiatrist determined that Panetti did not understand what was about to happen to him at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Wall's unit in Huntsville Thursday night.

Panetti's attorney, Michael Gross of San Antonio, is said to have then submitted that information to Judge Sparks, and the stay was issued.

Reportedly, Panetti will now be evaluated, and the findings of that examination will be submitted for a ruling on whether he is competent or not to face execution.

The death sentence was originally rendered Sept. 22, 1995, at the end of a nine-day trial in 216th District Court at Kerrville where the case had been moved on a change of venue motion.

Panetti is facing the death penalty for shooting Joe Alvarado, 55, and his wife, Amanda, 56, early on the morning of Sept. 8, 1992, at their home at 807 West Austin Street in Fredericksburg.

Before Wednesday's stay, defense lawyers and mental health advocates on Tuesday had called on Texas Gov. Rick Perry to grant Panetti a reprieve, hoping to obtain a 30-day delay for Panetti, a diagnosed schizophrenic, while they attempted to show that he is legally incompetent to be executed.

That request, together with the appeal Judge Sparks, were said to have been the last chances to keep Panetti's sentence from being carried out Thursday night.

State and federal appeals courts had found nothing wrong with Panetti's trial, and the U.S. Supreme Court had declined to hear his appeal. In addition, the state attorney general's office had told Judge Sparks that Panetti is competent enough to be executed, and last week the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted, 15-1, against a reprieve.

The double-murders with a 30-06 rifle preceded Panetti's kidnapping that same morning of his estranged wife, Sonja, and their three-year-old daughter, Amanda. He then drove his wife and daughter from the Alvarado home to a bunkhouse on Loudon Road where he released them a couple of hours later.

After a nine-hour standoff, Panetti surrendered without incident to law enforcement officers who had surrounded the one-room structure five miles west of town.

During the trial that followed three years later in Kerrville, Panetti served as his own attorney. At the trial, he tried to prove to the jury that he was insane at the time of the murders and that it was his alter ego, "Sarge", who did the killings.

As part of a series of pretrial, change of venue and competency hearings that took place in Fredericksburg, Boerne and Georgetown, the trial had originally been set for Bandera County but was eventually moved to Kerr County.

Subsequent to the issuing of a mandate by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in February of 1998 affirming Panetti's conviction, 216th District Court Judge Stephen B. Ables on Oct. 31, 2003, signed an order setting Feb. 5 as the date of execution.

Since then, Panetti's attorney (Gross) on Dec. 11 filed a defendant's motion to determine Panetti's competency to be executed. However, Judge Ables on Dec. 23 signed an order denying the competency motion.

An appeal of that order was then filed by Gross on Dec. 30 to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Austin. However, that appeal was dismissed, and a motion for a stay of execution was denied by the court on Jan. 28.

Panetti has been held on death row in the state prison system's Polunsky Unit at Livingston during most of his incarceration since being transported from the Gillespie County Jail on Sept. 25, 1995.

Before Wednesday's stay, a TDCJ spokesman said this week that Panetti was to have been moved 45 miles to the Walls Unit at Huntsville sometime Thursday in order for the sentence to be carried out.

Panetti's scheduled execution Thursday was to been the fifth execution by lethal injection in Texas this year and the first of four scheduled at Huntsville in February.

The deaths of Joe and Amanda Alvarado were the first murders in Gillespie County in more than two decades. However, Panetti's death sentence was the second to be assessed to a Gillespie County offender in less than a year.

Jose Hernandez Santellan received the death penalty in a March 10, 1995, trial at Kerrville for the Aug. 22, 1993, murder of Yolanda Guajardo Garza in the parking lot of Hill Country Memorial Hospital.

Santellan's death sentence by lethal injection was carried out on April 10, 2002, at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Huntsville where there are today 450 individuals waiting on death row.


				*SAVE SCOTT PANETTI* *Fredericksburg Standard*



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		Judge Orders 60-Day Stay Posted: Wednesday, Feb 04, 2004 - 04:39:51 pm CST One day away from his scheduled death by lethal injection in Huntsville for murdering his in-laws in 1992, Fredericksburg resident Scott Louis Panetti, 45, on Wednesday afternoon won a 60-day stay of execution. The decision came from U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks in Austin. Reportedly, Sparks issued the order after a pro bono psychiatrist examined Panetti on death row where the convicted murderer was awaiting his scheduled execution after 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5. Sources said the psychiatrist determined that Panetti did not understand what was about to happen to him at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Wall's unit in Huntsville Thursday night. Panetti's attorney, Michael Gross of San Antonio, is said to have then submitted that information to Judge Sparks, and the stay was issued. Reportedly, Panetti will now be evaluated, and the findings of that examination will be submitted for a ruling on whether he is competent or not to face execution. The death sentence was originally rendered Sept. 22, 1995, at the end of a nine-day trial in 216th District Court at Kerrville where the case had been moved on a change of venue motion. Panetti is facing the death penalty for shooting Joe Alvarado, 55, and his wife, Amanda, 56, early on the morning of Sept. 8, 1992, at their home at 807 West Austin Street in Fredericksburg. Before Wednesday's stay, defense lawyers and mental health advocates on Tuesday had called on Texas Gov. Rick Perry to grant Panetti a reprieve, hoping to obtain a 30-day delay for Panetti, a diagnosed schizophrenic, while they attempted to show that he is legally incompetent to be executed. That request, together with the appeal Judge Sparks, were said to have been the last chances to keep Panetti's sentence from being carried out Thursday night. State and federal appeals courts had found nothing wrong with Panetti's trial, and the U.S. Supreme Court had declined to hear his appeal. In addition, the state attorney general's office had told Judge Sparks that Panetti is competent enough to be executed, and last week the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted, 15-1, against a reprieve. The double-murders with a 30-06 rifle preceded Panetti's kidnapping that same morning of his estranged wife, Sonja, and their three-year-old daughter, Amanda. He then drove his wife and daughter from the Alvarado home to a bunkhouse on Loudon Road where he released them a couple of hours later. After a nine-hour standoff, Panetti surrendered without incident to law enforcement officers who had surrounded the one-room structure five miles west of town. During the trial that followed three years later in Kerrville, Panetti served as his own attorney. At the trial, he tried to prove to the jury that he was insane at the time of the murders and that it was his alter ego, "Sarge", who did the killings. As part of a series of pretrial, change of venue and competency hearings that took place in Fredericksburg, Boerne and Georgetown, the trial had originally been set for Bandera County but was eventually moved to Kerr County. Subsequent to the issuing of a mandate by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in February of 1998 affirming Panetti's conviction, 216th District Court Judge Stephen B. Ables on Oct. 31, 2003, signed an order setting Feb. 5 as the date of execution. Since then, Panetti's attorney (Gross) on Dec. 11 filed a defendant's motion to determine Panetti's competency to be executed. However, Judge Ables on Dec. 23 signed an order denying the competency motion. An appeal of that order was then filed by Gross on Dec. 30 to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Austin. However, that appeal was dismissed, and a motion for a stay of execution was denied by the court on Jan. 28. Panetti has been held on death row in the state prison system's Polunsky Unit at Livingston during most of his incarceration since being transported from the Gillespie County Jail on Sept. 25, 1995. Before Wednesday's stay, a TDCJ spokesman said this week that Panetti was to have been moved 45 miles to the Walls Unit at Huntsville sometime Thursday in order for the sentence to be carried out. Panetti's scheduled execution Thursday was to been the fifth execution by lethal injection in Texas this year and the first of four scheduled at Huntsville in February. The deaths of Joe and Amanda Alvarado were the first murders in Gillespie County in more than two decades. However, Panetti's death sentence was the second to be assessed to a Gillespie County offender in less than a year. Jose Hernandez Santellan received the death penalty in a March 10, 1995, trial at Kerrville for the Aug. 22, 1993, murder of Yolanda Guajardo Garza in the parking lot of Hill Country Memorial Hospital. Santellan's death sentence by lethal injection was carried out on April 10, 2002, at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Huntsville where there are today 450 individuals waiting on death row.



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