NO DINING IN TEXAS

Convicted killer in gay-bashing slaying gets reprieve from federal appeals court

HUNTSVILLE, Texas - A Texas inmate condemned for killing a man in 1993 won a reprieve from a federal appeals court a day before he was to be put to death.

Henry Dunn Jr.'s execution was stayed Monday by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

Dunn, 27, was sentenced to death for abducting, robbing and fatally shooting 23-year-old Nicolas West in November 1993 in what authorities said was a gay-bashing hate crime.

He and his lawyers contended a previous state-appointed attorney was inexperienced and incompetent, and missed deadlines that made future appeals impossible.