Texas death row inmate pulls out eye, eats it

[juvieco36]

HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas death row inmate with a history of mental problems pulled out his only good eye and told authorities he ate it.

Andre Thomas, 25, was arrested for the fatal stabbings of his estranged wife, their young son and her 13-month-old daughter in March 2004. Their hearts also had been ripped out. He was convicted and condemned for the infant's death.

While in the Grayson County Jail in Sherman, Thomas plucked out his right eye before his trial later in 2004. A judge subsequently ruled he was competent to stand trial.

A death-row officer at the Polunsky Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice found Thomas in his cell with blood on his face and took him to the infirmary.

"Thomas said he pulled out his eye and subsequently ingested it," agency spokesman Jason Clark said Friday.

Thomas was treated at East Texas Medical Center in Tyler after the Dec. 9 incident. Then he was transferred and remains at the Jester Unit, a prison psychiatric facility near Richmond southwest of Houston.

"He will finally be able to receive the mental health care that we had wanted and begged for from day 1," Bobbie Peterson-Cate, Thomas' trial attorney, told the Sherman Herald Democrat. "He is insane and mentally ill. It is exactly the same reason he pulled out the last one."

At his trial, defense lawyers also argued he suffered from alcohol and drug abuse.

Thomas does not have an execution date.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in October upheld his conviction and death sentence for the death of 13-month-old Leyha Marie Hughes. Also killed March 27, 2004, were his wife, Laura Christine Boren, 20, and their son, 4-year-old Andre Lee.

Thomas, from Texoma, walked into the Sherman Police Department and told a dispatcher he had just murdered the three and had stabbed himself in the chest.

Thomas told police how he put his victims' hearts in his pocket and left their apartment, took them home, put them in a plastic bag and threw them in the trash.

Court documents described the three victims as having "large, gaping wounds to their chests."

[BOP5150]

SOB should have skipped the eye and put a gaping wound in his chest and eaten his heart instead. Who yanks out the hearts of anyone, let alone those of a 4 yr old and 13 month old? Save the taxpayers money and put him to death already. What are they going to accomplish with mental health care?

[20NOUT]

I wonder if it tastes like chicken?

[all4114all]

Originally Posted by BOP5150

SOB should have skipped the eye and put a gaping wound in his chest and eaten his heart instead. Who yanks out the hearts of anyone, let alone those of a 4 yr old and 13 month old? Save the taxpayers money and put him to death already. What are they going to accomplish with mental health care?

Well, golly gee whiz, BOP5150, he will KNOW he is being killed if he is sane. Isn't that the idea?

I guess he has a strange way of avoiding the death penalty!

[juvieco36]

Originally Posted by 20NOUT

I wonder if it tastes like chicken?

got ant hot sauce LOL

[Crosstimbers Okie]

Sometimes thugs just be hungry...

[Cubfan]

Taking "An eye for an eye" a little too literally.
Seeing his crime, I wouldn't mind if he ate himself to death.

[Arkimedes]

LOL Ya'know..... I'm not really sure how to react to this. Punishment should be more severe but, damn... if he hates prison food that much........

[bury_bred]

This begs for some smarta#@ comments:

See my eye is not bigger than my stomach

In about 8 hrs he will have a real ****ty outlook on life

I hate to say it but he will never see parole that way

Spelling Bee question does stomach have an eye in it.

Hungry ? No but I got my eye on desert.

You eye balling me boy?

All in favor of breaking for lunch say eye.

That's a lot of work just to get a dog.

Old MacDonald had a farm eat eye eat eye Oooooo

That's one way to look at it

You'll put your eye out you'll put your eye out

Doing hard time is never getting to see any eye candy.

Well don't look to him as an eye witness.

[LTABM]

I guess he'll keep an "eye" on his plea for insanity....