Texas inmate is saved from death row

• Tomas Gallo is saved from death row.
• A Texas judge found that he is intellectually disabled.
• A debate on the death penalty.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals this Wednesday reduced the death sentence of a Latino inmate who was convicted of murder in 2004.

The court determined that his intellectual disability was too great for him to be legally executed.

Tomas Gallo was sentenced to death for murdering his girlfriend’s 3-year-old daughter, according to The Texas Tribune reported.

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Gallo was convicted of sexually assaulting and killing a 3-year-old

According to EFE, Destiny Flores was found dead on December 11, 2001.

The girl was supposedly in the care of Tomas Gallo. The autopsy found that the little girl had 200 injuries.

Among them was a skull fracture and evidence of a serious sexual assault.

In his first trial, the defense argued that Gallo suffers from intellectual disabilities, making him ineligible for the death penalty. However, the jury did not agree.

An appeals court decides Tomas Gallo should not be executed

On the other hand, Gallo’s lawyers continued their battle to show that he should be covered by a U.S. Supreme Court decision.

In 2002, the Supreme Court banned the execution of intellectually disabled defendants.

After an evaluation, the Harris County Prosecutor’s Office in Texas agreed with the defense that Gallo had an intellectual disability.

For this reason, Tomas will not be executed

What did the defense argue?

The defense argued that psychologist George Denkowski, who examined Tomas Gallo, was racist when he determined his IQ.

Denkowski concluded that Tomas’s IQ score should be inflated because his race and socio-economic background made it difficult to accurately assess.

He was barred from assessing people on death row in 2011 because of his controversial methods, according to The Texas Tribune.

People immediately reacted to the decision on social media.

Tomas Gallo is not the only one death row inmate to have his sentence adjusted

Tomas Gallo is not the only person who has been saved from the death penalty in Texas.

Recently, it has been suggested that a mother on death row have her sentence reviewed.

The judge pointed out that prosecutors withheld key evidence that could have prevented Melissa Lucio from being found guilty.

She insists her toddler, Mariah Álvarez, died after accidentally falling down the stairs and not because of alleged abuse.

Justice for Tomas Gallo

Finally, after it was announced that Tomas Gallo would have his sentence adjusted in Texas, there was an unexpected reaction on social media.

The French Coalition Against the Death Penalty demanded justice for him.

«Beyond Atkins’ claim, important doubts remain about Tomas Gallo’s potential innocence.»

«Procedural issues, limited resources and time constraints have hampered a thorough investigation,» they said.