Appeals Court Clears Way For Execution

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) – A federal appeals court has cleared the way for a Texas man to be executed next week for the 1998 fatal stabbing of an 85-year-old woman, though his lawyer says he’ll appeal. Ruben Gutierrez is scheduled to die Tuesday for the killing of Escolastica Harrison at her home in Brownsville, which is in Texas’ southern tip along the border with Mexico. Prosecutors say the killing was part of an attempt to steal more than $600,000 that the woman had hidden in her home. A panel of three judges on the New Orleans-based Fifth Circuit Court on Friday overturned a lower court’s decision to stay the 43-year-old’s execution.