Houston cop killer Haynes granted stay of execution

HUNTSVILLE - From his holding cell outside Texas' death chamber, Houston killer Anthony Haynes on Thursday praised God for sparing his life after the U.S. Supreme Court stopped his execution and agreed to consider reviewing his case.

"God told me I wouldn't die on death row," an ecstatic Haynes told a prison employee. "He put things in my path to keep me focused. God proved himself to be faithful. He delivered me from the death chamber. To God be all the glory."

Haynes, 33, had been sentenced to die for the May 1998 murder of off-duty Houston police Sgt. Kent Kincaid. The officer was gunned down as his wife watched after the policeman confronted Haynes in the wake of a traffic incident that police said was part of a strategy to rob motorists.

PR CAMPAIGN: Houston cop killer hopes 'nice guy' image will halt execution

The high court agreed to consider a review of his case about 3:30 p.m. about 2 ½ hours before Haynes was to be put to death.

Earlier, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and a federal court had rejected the killer's appeals, which essentially said Haynes' previous lawyers had provided inadequate representation.

Says trial wasn't fair

In his petitions, Haynes' current lawyer Richard Ellis said the earlier attorneys failed to thoroughly research the case, and had handled the punishment phase of the trial as an "afterthought." Friends and relatives who would have testified to Haynes' good character were not allowed to tell their stories to jurors, Ellis said.

Should the high court review Haynes' case, it will also consider whether claims such as his can be considered in federal courts when they have not been heard in state courts. Haynes' claims of insufficient counsel were not heard in state courts because they were not presented in a timely manner mandated by Texas law.

High court justices later this month will consider reviewing a case where the arguments mirror Haynes'. The court in August stayed the execution of Amarillo triple-killer John Balentine.

In petitions on Haynes' behalf, Ellis has argued that his client was a stellar student of good character, an ambitious youth destined for a military career, before he fell victim to drug abuse.

Haynes, he said, was under the influence of methamphetamines at the time of the policeman's murder. Kincaid, 40, the father of two young girls, was en route to a sports bar with his wife when an object flying from Haynes's truck shattered the windshield of his vehicle.

Kincaid followed the truck, and when it stopped, approached Haynes and his two teenage passengers. One of the teens testified that Kincaid, attired in civilian clothing, told Haynes he was an officer. When he reached for his ID, Haynes fired the fatal shot.

Shot at motorists

Police said Kincaid's windshield had been broken by a bullet from a .25 caliber pistol. On three other occasions that evening, they said, Haynes and his companions had used the same tactic, planning to rob motorists when they stopped.

In its order halting the Thursday execution, the high court noted that the stay automatically will be dissolved, and the execution rescheduled, if the justices decide not to review Haynes' case.

allan.turner@chron.com