USA - Texas. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has granted a stay of execution for Charles Dean Hood, who was set to die tomorrow.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has granted a stay of execution for Charles Dean Hood, who was set to die tomorrow. The stay was based on an appeal filed last week that asked the court to reconsider an issue taken up over the summer. It is not related to revelations that the judge and prosecutor during Mr. Hood's trial have admitted in sworn affidavits taken Monday and Tuesday that they had a sexual relationship. On Monday, District Judge Greg Brewer ordered that depositions be taken from Verla Sue Holland and former Collin County district attorney Tom O'Connell. Mr. O'Connell was deposed late Monday and Judge Holland today. But Tuesday's reprieve was granted over a technical issue regarding instructions given to the original jury, and a hearing will be scheduled on that issue. The depositions ordered by Judge Brewer in his Collin County civil court were the result of an unusual move by Mr. Hood's defense attorneys, who used a civil action to force the depositions in an attempt to gain evidence that might prompt another reason for a last-minute stay of execution for Mr. Hood. In the depositions, Judge Holland and Mr. O’Connell admitted a sexual relationship that lasted for years but gave different accounts of whether it was ongoing during Mr. Hood's trial. (see also Sept. 3, 4 and 8)