GRAYSON COUNTY, Texas — A Texas court has postponed the competency hearing of Andre Thomas, widely considered one of the most severely mentally ill individuals on death row in the state’s history, after doctors concluded he is too mentally ill to be safely transported for the proceedings.
The hearing in the 15th Judicial District Court in Grayson County was scheduled to begin Monday, March 9, 2026, but was postponed Tuesday after medical experts raised serious concerns about Mr. Thomas’ mental condition.
Mr. Thomas’ execution date was withdrawn in 2023 in order to determine whether he is competent to be executed. The hearing had been scheduled for early March, but a new date has not been set.
Andre Thomas has faced mental illness throughout his life. While growing up in extreme poverty, he began hearing voices at age 9 and made his first suicide attempt at age 10.
He repeatedly sought mental health help but did not receive it, despite being taken to a hospital where he was ultimately left alone.
In 2004, Mr. Thomas walked out of that hospital and murdered his estranged wife, a white woman, their son and his wife’s daughter before stabbing himself in the chest. He later turned himself in to police.
Mr. Thomas currently experiences schizophrenia and has permanently blinded himself by gouging out both of his eyes and consuming one of them while in jail. He believes he was “following the commands of the divine voices in his head.”
He experiences fixed delusions despite massive doses of antipsychotic medications, hallucinations and has attempted suicide many more times, “seeking help for the incessant voices in his head.”
The doctors who evaluated him concluded that he was psychotic and hallucinating.
The state’s experts were unable to reexamine Mr. Thomas amid concerns that he is too mentally ill to be safely transferred from Texas’ Wayne Scott Unit.
Dr. Joseph V. Penn filed a letter with the court describing Mr. Thomas as “one of the most impaired and complicated patients he has ever encountered.”
Dr. Penn added that Mr. Thomas’ mental illness is so intractable and severe that transferring him to Grayson County would raise serious concerns about additional self-harm and psychotic deterioration.
In July 2024, Dr. George Corvin, a court-appointed psychiatrist, conducted a 10-hour evaluation of Mr. Thomas and concluded that he is not competent to be executed under the prevailing legal standard.
Dr. Corvin stated, “The nature of his delusional beliefs directly undermines his understanding and comprehension of the circumstances surrounding his potential execution.”
According to Dr. Corvin, Mr. Thomas can articulate the government’s stated reason for executing him but does not believe it is the real reason.
He stated, “Mr. Thomas delusionally believes that the government would most likely be unsuccessful if they were to try to execute him, such that if his heart were to stop, it would immediately start again.”
The United States Supreme Court has cited the Eighth Amendment in prohibiting the execution of a prisoner who lacks a rational understanding of why he is being executed.
Under the legal standard, a prisoner’s understanding must be meaningful, not merely the ability to repeat the stated reason for execution based on conviction of a particular offense.
Despite the overwhelming evidence of Mr. Thomas’ severe mental illness and inability to be transported for a competency hearing, the state of Texas continues urging that his execution proceed.
At Mr. Thomas’ trial, the jury expressed racial bias on their jury questionnaires, showing overt opposition to biracial marriages and families.
The prosecution also appealed to the jurors’ racial prejudices by eliciting irrelevant testimony about sexual relationships Mr. Thomas had with other white women.
Mental health professionals and organizations across Texas and the nation have expressed support for clemency for Mr. Thomas.
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