Kosoul Chanthakoummane Execution Stayed Once More
Collin County native’s death delayed due to doubts over forensic evidence
By Sarah Marloff, Fri., June 23, 2017
Texas death row inmate Kosoul Chanthakoummane, who was scheduled for execution on July 19, has received his second stay since January. According to Gregory Gardner, Chanthakoummane's attorney, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ordered the Collin County trial court that sentenced his client "to conduct fact-finding on our claims." Gardner has filed a petition for Chanthakoummane – who was convicted of capital murder in 2007 for the death of McKinney real estate agent Sarah Anne Walker during a botched robbery – arguing that the prosecution relied on now-discredited forensic sciences, "including bite-mark comparisons, hypnotically induced identifications, and erroneous DNA calculations," to convict his client.
As of Monday, June 19, the trial court has not set any additional dates, and no deadline has been set by the TCCA.
Collin County issued Chanthakoummane's first stay on Jan. 17, a week before his original execution date, due to the same concerns over debunked forensic science.
This story has been updated to note that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued Chanthakoummane's stay, not the Texas Court Clerks Association.
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