Andre Thomas’ Attorney says the death row inmate sought out help for his mental health two days prior to committing murders

SHERMAN, Texas (KXII) - According to Andre Thomas’ attorney, Maurie Levin, “Mr. Thomas has been extraordinarily mentally ill and hearing voices and having hallucinations starting when he was 10 years old.”

It’s been over a decade since the capital murder trial of Andre Thomas that shook Texoma.

Grayson County District Attorney, Brett Smith said the case was, “one of the most horrific murder cases in the history of Grayson County.”

After being sentenced to death in 2005 for murdering his ex-wife, son, and her daughter, Thomas’ legal team asked The Supreme Court to review the case based on jury bias.

levin said, “We argue, and I certainly believe that they were racially biased.”

U.S Supreme Court Justice, Sonya Sotomayor agreed, writing that the “hostility the jurors expressed in their questionnaire strongly suggested that their presence would infect the proceedings with racial bias.”

Levin said, “That made it impossible for them to be fair in their judgement both of Mr. Thomas at the guilt phase and whether or not he was deserving of a sentence of death.” Just two days before the murder, Levin said, Thomas was aware that his mental health was on a downward spiral.

She explained, “He went to the hospital and said, I need help, I’m seeing things, I’m living the same day over and over again, I’m suicidal, I need help, and the doctors at the time wrote in their record that this man is psychotic, he’s hallucinating.”

However, before doctors could issue an emergency detention order to hold Thomas, Levin said, he wandered off and police were asked to pick him up.

Levin continues, “The cops never did it. so, they never picked him up and two days later, these awful murders happened.”

After last week’s Supreme Court ruling, the Grayson County District Attorney’s office plans to move forward.

District Attorney, Brett Smith said, “We anticipate if there aren’t any other further pleadings or motions filed before The United States Supreme Court that our office will be requesting an execution date from Judge Jim Fallon in the fifteenth district court.

However, Levin still questions how a jury can sentence someone as mentally disturbed as Andre Thomas, to death.

She inquired, “Are there mitigating circumstances that warrant a sentence of life instead of a sentence of death?”

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