#andre thomas

The Struggle for Sanity - Andre Thomas

The execution of the mentally ill violates the eighth amendment on cruel and unusual punishment. But what constitutes as mentally ill in the eyes of the law? How “insane” does somebody have to be to avoid execution?

Believing they were the embodiment of the Antichrist and pure evil, Andre Thomas murdered his estranged wife, their son, and her daughter. After his arrest, he plucked out his eyeballs with his own hands and consumed one. He thought this would prevent the government from reading his thoughts.

He was sentenced to die.

“‘One of the Most Mentally Ill’ Inmates in Texas Is About to Be Executed” by Staff Writer Michelle Pitcher:

The idea that someone can be too mentally ill to be executed is gaining traction in Texas, where the legislature is considering HB 727, which would exempt people with severe mental illness—including schizophrenia or bipolar disorder—from being sentenced to death. But while signaling a more clear-eyed view of mental health and the criminal justice system, the bill would not provide retroactive relief for some Texas prisoners, including one man whose execution date looms. 

On April 5, the State of Texas plans to execute Andre Thomas, who was sentenced to death in 2005 at the age of 21 after he murdered his estranged wife, Laura Boren, their four-year-old son Andre Jr., and Boren’s 13-month old daughter, Leyha Hughes. Thomas, who had suffered from hallucinations and suicidal ideation since he was a child, was convinced the three were working with the devil. The act was ritualistic: He used a different knife for each victim to avoid cross-contaminating their blood, and he removed some of their organs. He then stabbed himself in the chest in an unsuccessful attempt to take his own life. 

Thomas, a Black man, was convicted of Leyha’s murder by an all-white jury in 2005 and sentenced to death, despite a mountain of mitigating evidence that, if presented by the defense, could have altered the outcome. 

“There’s no one in the modern history of the death penalty, I believe, who is as mentally ill as Mr. Thomas,” said Maurie Levin, who’s represented Thomas for over a decade. “The spectacle of him being led to the gurney—blind and psychotic—is not one that I would think even Texas or Governor [Greg] Abbott would want to endorse.”

The deck was stacked against Thomas at trial: Multiple jurors had openly expressed racist beliefs during jury selection. The prosecutor leaned on this during the trial, asking the jury to impose the death penalty so Thomas didn’t date one of their daughters next.

Disregarded by The Law: Andre Thomas

I first heard about this case from my favorite true-crime podcast True Crime All The Time on Spotify. Shout out to the hosts Mike Ferguson and Mike Gibson. This case fascinated me when I first heard about it and I thought it would be a great first case for my new segment “Disregarded by the Law”. In this segment, I want to focus on people that may not have been victims in their cases but were…

Disregarded by The Law: Andre Thomas

I first heard about this case from my favorite true-crime podcast True Crime All The Time on Spotify. Shout out to the hosts Mike Ferguson and Mike Gibson. This case fascinated me when I first heard about it and I thought it would be a great first case for my new segment “Disregarded by the Law”. In this segment, I want to focus on people that may not have been victims in their cases but were…

Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do.                                                                              ~Benjamin Spock   If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped…