US Man, On Death Row For Killing His Family, Dug Out Own Eyes, Swallowed One

Attorneys for a death row inmate who gouged out his own eyes after murdering his wife, son and stepdaughter in Texas asked authorities on Wednesday for clemency because he is mentally ill.

Andre Thomas, 39, was convicted of killing his family in 2004. His lawyer Maurie Levin told a press conference he was "one of the most mentally ill prisoners in Texas history."

"If ever there was a case that warranted mercy, it is this one," she said.

Two days before the murders Thomas had attempted to die by suicide and was taken to hospital, where doctors concluded that he was mentally ill -- but when he was momentarily left alone he walked out, his lawyers said.

Five days after the crime, while under arrest, he plucked out his right eye -- saying that he was following a biblical command, according to his lawyers.

While on death row he plucked out his other eye and swallowed it, "afraid the government could see his thoughts," they said.

Thomas' lawyers have asked Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the state's pardons commission to stay his execution -- set for April 5 this year -- while he is evaluated to see if he is deemed fit.

They also sought to get his sentence commuted to life imprisonment.

"The US Supreme Court has made unequivocally clear that the Eighth Amendment prohibits the execution of prisoners who, like Mr Thomas are insane and do not understand why they are being executed," Levin said.

Thomas is being held in a unit for mentally ill prisoners.

"He is severely psychotic. He still has hallucinations ... He only understands the world through a prism of his own alternate reality," Levin said.

The lawyers claimed that the trial jury was never made aware of Thomas' mental condition or his repeated attempts to get help.

They also charged in a statement on the Legal Defense Fund website that the process was tainted by racism. Thomas is Black, and his estranged wife Laura Boren was white. The lawyers said the jury was all white, and that racist fears were played up during the trial.

Levin said they will also seek a stay at the state court.

So far this year, six people sentenced to death have been executed in the United States.

According to humanitarian organizations, another 22 people are scheduled to be executed this year.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)