--- description: A federal appeals court issued a stay of execution on Tuesday just two hours before Robert Campbell, who is on death row for rape and murder, was set to be executed in the first lethal injection since Oklahoma’s botched execution in late April title: Rober James Campbell Tuesday Night Execution Stayed at Last Minute image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb7ef00b02359f1b9/69868f32810bbb399cc918f3/2014-05-12t194702z_1555738738_gm1ea5d0.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Lethal Injection Execution Halted in Texas by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 13, 2014 9:51 PM CUT  Robert Campbell is pictured in this undated handout photo courtesy of Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Robert Campbell is pictured in this undated handout photo courtesy of Texas Department of Criminal Justice.Texas Department of Criminal Justice/Reuters by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 13, 2014 9:51 PM CUT With only two hours to spare, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday to [delay](http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/lethal-injection/federal-court-stays-execution-texas-killer-robert-campbell-n104131 "undefined") the execution of Texas inmate Robert James Campbell. The 41-year-old inmate, who is on death row for murder and rape, would have received the first lethal injection since Oklahoma’s botched execution in late April. Though Campbell’s lawyers filed appeals citing the Oklahoma debacle, the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided Campbell’s low IQ should be fully considered before an execution takes place, [_NBC News_ ](http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/lethal-injection/federal-court-stays-execution-texas-killer-robert-campbell-n104131 "undefined")reports. The Supreme Court deemed executions of the mentally retarded unconstitutional in 2002. The circuit court judges called the fact that the IQ information was passed along so close to the scheduled execution “regrettable,” and blamed the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for dragging its feet. “It is regrettable that we are now reviewing evidence of intellectual disability at the eleventh hour before Campbell’s scheduled execution,” the court wrote, according to NBC. “However, from the record before us, it appears that we cannot fault Campbell or his attorneys, present or past, for the delay.” The victim’s family members, however, expressed discontent over the court’s decision.“He’s intelligent enough to commit a crime,” Israel Santana, the cousin of Alejandra Rendon who was raped and murdered in 1991, said. “It’s a joke.” \[[_NBC_](http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/lethal-injection/federal-court-stays-execution-texas-killer-robert-campbell-n104131 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/98384/lethal-injection-execution-halted-in-texas/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/98384/lethal-injection-execution-halted-in-texas/"},"headline":"Lethal Injection Execution Halted in Texas","datePublished":"2014-05-13T21:51:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:49:11.031Z","description":"A federal appeals court issued a stay of execution on Tuesday just two hours before Robert Campbell, who is on death row for rape and murder, was set to be executed in the first lethal injection since Oklahoma’s botched execution in late April","url":"https://time.com/98384/lethal-injection-execution-halted-in-texas/","keywords":["Crime","execution","lethal injection"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb7ef00b02359f1b9/69868f32810bbb399cc918f3/2014-05-12t194702z_1555738738_gm1ea5d0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb7ef00b02359f1b9/69868f32810bbb399cc918f3/2014-05-12t194702z_1555738738_gm1ea5d0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Robert Campbell is pictured in this undated handout photo","caption":"Robert Campbell is pictured in this undated handout photo","creditText":"Texas Department of Criminal Justice/Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/98384/lethal-injection-execution-halted-in-texas/","name":"Lethal Injection Execution Halted in Texas"}}]}] ```