Odessa man murders elderly couple.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld the death sentene of an Odessa man given a new sentencing hearing because a psychiatrist at his first trial cited race as a factor in whether he would continue to be violent. Michael Deal Gonzales was convicted of killing an elderly couple during the burglary of their Odessa home in 1994. His case was among a half-dozen reviewed by the Texas attorney general's office because of testimony from Walter Quijano, the former chief psychologist for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. A new punishment trial was held for the 38-year-old Gonzales in 2009 and he again was sentenced to death. His appeal, rejected by the court Wednesday, focused on trial court jurisdiction, jury selection and the constitutionality of the Texas death penalty.