Texas Death Row Inmate Set to Die Next Month Gets Reprieve

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A 36-year-old Texas prisoner set for execution next month for a robbery-slaying in San Antonio 14 years ago has won a reprieve.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has sent Juan Castillo's appeal back to his Bexar County trial court to review arguments from defense attorneys that a witness presented false testimony at Castillo's 2005 trial.

Castillo was set for lethal injection Dec. 14 for the December 2003 fatal shooting of 19-year-old Tommy Garcia Jr. in an ambush robbery plot that also involved Castillo's girlfriend and two others.

Castillo's attorneys argue a Bexar County jail inmate who testified against Castillo now says he made up his testimony to try to help his own legal problems. Prosecutors opposing the reprieve said testimony from other witnesses corroborated the inmate's testimony.