Texas Stays Execution of Andre Thomas Scheduled for April 5, 2023
Andre Thomas, Texas
Updated: Monday, April 3, 2023
Andre Thomas was scheduled to be executed at 6 pm local time, on Wednesday, April 5, 2023. Executions are carried out inside the Walls Unit execution chamber at the Huntsville State Penitentiary in Huntsville Texas. His execution has been stayed. Forty-year-old Andre is convicted of murdering 13-month-old Leyha Marie Hughes on March 27, 2004, in Sherman, Texas. Andre has been on death row in Texas for the last 18 years.
Andre was born in Oklahoma and raised mostly by his mother in Texas. He had a difficult childhood and frequently lacked running water, heat, or electricity. At the age of ten, Andre began drinking. At the age of 13, he began smoking marijuana. He frequently missed school while growing up and dropped out in the 9th grade. He has had several arrests, both as a juvenile and an adult. When he was not in prison, Andre worked in maintenance and as a laborer.
Andre also had a history of suicide attempts and, around the age of ten, he allegedly also began telling people he could hear angels and demons arguing in his head. His first two suicide attempts were made at the age of 13. While he was, at least once, placed on suicide watch at a juvenile detention center, he did not receive ongoing treatment for his suicidal thoughts or suspected mental illness.
Eventually, Andre Thomas met and began dating Laura Boren. In August 1999, she gave birth to their child, a boy whom they named Andre Lee Thomas, Jr. Thomas had dropped out of school to begin working to support Laura and the baby, however, he went to earn his GED. Thomas and Laura were married in 2001. Four months later, they separated. In 2003, Laura had another child with her new boyfriend.
In early March of 2004, Thomas began taking cold medicine recreationally. Friends and family heard him talking with his auditory and visual hallucinations. Thomas claimed that God and demons were talking to him. He attempted to commit suicide at least once during March of 2004 and ended up in the hospital at least twice. His behavior had also grown more unusual.
Thomas later told police that he had come to believe that Laura was the “Jezebel” referenced in the Biblical book of Revelation and that his son was the “Anti-Christ.” On March 27, 2004, he went to Laura’s apartment, broke in a stabbed Laura with a knife. He also stabbed her two children. He then stabbed himself, believing he would die. When he did not he returned home. Laura and the children all died from their injuries.
After returning home, Thomas called Laura’s mother, saying that something bad was happening to him and that he needed help. He then confessed to his girlfriend and cousin, who took him to the police station, where he gave a videotaped confession.
Five days later, Thomas gouged out his right eye while in prison. He was deemed not competent to stand trial and was sent to a hospital for treatment. At the hospital, he was diagnosed with substance-induced psychosis with delusions and hallucinations. Once he was found to have regained competency, he stood trial, where he attempted an insanity defense. This defense was rejected by a jury, who convicted him of murder and sentenced Thomas to death. He was only tired for the death of Leyha Marie Hughes, Laura’s infant daughter.
Thomas has been granted a stay of execution by Judge Jim Fallon of the 15th state district court. The stay of execution was granted over concerns regarding his competency.
Pray for peace for the family of Laura Boren, Andre Thomas, Jr., and Leyha Hughes. Pray for strength for the family of Andre Thomas. Please pray that if Andre is innocent, lacks the competency to be executed, or should not be executed for any other reason, that evidence will be presented before the execution. Pray that Andre may come to find peace through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
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