Texas set to resume executions after five-month virus break

HOUSTON: The US state of Texas was set Wednesday to execute an inmate convicted of murdering an elderly man during a 1993 robbery — ending a five-month halt to executions due to the coronavirus crisis. Billy Joe Wardlow, 45, was scheduled to die by lethal injection at the penitentiary in Huntsville. His attorneys have filed an 11th-hour appeal with the US Supreme Court. With the help of his girlfriend at the time, Wardlow held up an elderly man, Carl Cole, in a bid to steal the man´s truck. The 82-year-old Cole fought back, and Wardlow, then 18, shot him in the head. Wardlow´s execution was initially set for April 29, but was pushed back to Wednesday because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As with every execution, a significant number of people are involved: prison guards, witnesses, the inmate´s loved ones, and the victim´s relatives. Texas has not carried out an execution since early February.