Lawyers for Brownsville man on death row claim his delusions make him incompetent for execution
A Brownsville man on death row for killing his three children is too mentally ill to be put to death, according to a filing made by his lawyers.
John Allen Rubio was convicted of murdering his three children in 2003. He's scheduled to be executed in November 2026.
Rubio was sentenced to death after investigators found his children, 3-year-old Julissa, 1-year-old John, and 2-month-old Mary Jane, dead.
Police said Rubio and his common-law wife, Angela Camacho, beheaded the children in their apartment.
Investigators say Rubio and Camacho killed the children because they couldn't support them financially. Rubio previously said the children were decapitated because he believed they were possessed by his dead grandmother.
CLICK HERE TO HEAR FROM JOHN ALLEN RUBIO IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
While Rubio was sentenced to death, Camacho is serving life behind bars.
His defense team filed a motion on April 30 saying Rubio is incompetent and shouldn't be executed. Court records show the state has acknowledged the motion.
The motion says Rubio has ongoing mental health problems and suffers from delusions.
"Rubio suffers from a lifelong and persistent delusion that he is caught in a God-versus-Satan struggle for the world and he continues to believe that his planned execution is really Satan's attempt to destroy him for aligning himself with God," the motion reads. “Rubio is incompetent because his delusions make him unable to understand the authentic reason for his execution.”
Rubio’s lawyers are asking for two expert evaluations and a full hearing to prove he's incompetent.
The defense points to evidence from his trials showing Rubio was treated for severe mental illness between his first and second trial. He spent time in a psychiatric ward.
Prosecutors have until June 30 to respond to the motion.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Rubio's case.
You'll hear more about the investigation, as well as an exclusive interview with Rubio and the investigators involved in this case, in the special report Echoes from Brownsville: The Rubio Murders. It airs on Thursday, May 21.
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