Judge orders execution date withdrawn for Lubbock inmate - LubbockOnline.com
A 43-year-old death row inmate has evaded execution after successfully filing a motion requesting evidence used against him be tested for DNA. Lubbock Judge John McClendon with the 137th District Court withdrew Joe Franco Garza’s execution date and ordered state criminologists to test DNA found on physical evidence prosecutors used 16 years ago to link Garza to a 1998 murder. Lawyers for Garza filed a motion in June hoping new technology will prove their client’s innocence. “Because Mr. Garza would not have been convicted if exculpatory results had been obtained through DNA testing, this court should find this request was not made for purposes of causing unreasonable delay,” the motion states. State attorneys agreed with the additional testing, according to the judge’s order. “It’s possible (Garza’s attorneys are) hoping evidence will show some other alternative perpetrator,” said Jeff Ford, a Lubbock County assistant district attorney in the appellate division. Ford said the state agreed to the testing because Garza met the standard for a state statute for post-conviction DNA testing. A Lubbock County jury found Garza guilty of strangling to death Silbiano Rangel and then stealing his 1992 Ford Ranger pickup truck, which was found in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. In the motion, Garza’s attorneys argue the state. Source: lubbockonline.com
