Execution of man convicted in killing of 3 in Texas delayed

By JUAN A. LOZANO
Associated Press

HOUSTON (AP) — A judge has delayed next week’s scheduled execution of a man convicted of killing three teenagers while they slept in a Texas Panhandle home more than 25 years ago. Fifty-four-year-old John Balentine had been set to receive a lethal injection at the state prison in Huntsville on Feb. 8.  He was condemned for the January 1998 shooting deaths of Edward Mark Caylor, Kai Brooke Geyer and Steven Watson at a home in Amarillo. On Tuesday, state District Judge Steven Denny in Potter County withdrew Balentine’s execution date and warrant because the inmate’s attorneys had not been properly notified of the execution date and warrant outlining the lethal injection. Such notification is required under state law.  His execution has not been rescheduled.