Quote:
A San Antonio man who killed a father of two during a drug-fueled joyride to Corpus Christi is for the third time scheduled to die by lethal injection today.
Attorneys for Troy Kunkle sought another stay of execution for the former Roosevelt High School student. The U.S. Supreme Court halted his execution twice last year, but both times decided against considering the case.
Kunkle, 38, has spent nearly all his adult life in prison for the murder of Steven Wayne Horton on Aug. 11, 1984.
Then 18, Kunkle got drunk and dropped acid before shooting a man during a stickup that was part of a joyride with four friends. After the killing, he chanted lyrics from the Metallica song "No Remorse."
The ecstasy experienced by Kunkle has been agony for the father of his victim.
"I've completely lost all faith in the court system, not necessarily the local district attorney's office, but I'm talking about the appeals courts in all these things," said Nolan Horton. "I don't understand it. I don't know how some of these people got there. They just make stupid, crazy decisions."
The most recent halt to carrying out Kunkle's death sentence came Nov. 18, when the Supreme Court stopped the execution about 40 minutes after Kunkle could have been strapped to the death chamber gurney for injection.
Last month, the court lifted its order, though Justice John Paul Stevens wrote that he believed the sentence was imposed unconstitutionally.
Two days later, a judge in Corpus Christi set Kunkle's new execution date.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week refused to halt the execution. On Monday, Kunkle's attorneys launched new efforts in state and federal appeals courts.