BRAZOS COUNTY, Texas — A Texas man is moving to appeal his death sentence after stating that a Comedy Central special violated his constitutional rights to a fair and speedy trial.
Grabiel Hall, 29, is set to face lethal injection after being convicted of murder in Texas' Brazos Valley.
Hall's legal team is now arguing that footage from a special on the television comedy network was later used to influence the sentencing of their client.
A Texas jail volunteered to let Comedy Central comedian Jeff Ross roast its inmates. It encouraged inmates to participate. Texas then used the footage to sentence my client, Gabriel Hall, to death.
— McKenzie Edwards (@mckeds) December 28, 2022
We’re asking #SCOTUS to review the constitutionality of Mr. Hall’s sentence. pic.twitter.com/JFNFskKHDw
On October 10, 2011, Hall entered a residence where he is said to have fatally stabbed and shot a 68-year-old male. He was also convicted of stabbing the victim's 69-year-old wife, who survived the attack.
Hall was a student at A&M Consolidated High School in Texas at the time.
While Hall was serving time in jail, comedian Jeff Ross filmed a special featuring the maximum-security areas of the facility, including Hall's unit where he was being held.
Ross can be seen in the segment conversing with inmates in the segment called, "Jeff Ross roasts criminals: Live at Brazos County Jail."
Hall's legal team is claiming that additional footage, outside that televised segment, was later presented to a Texas jury before they deliberated, and he was handed a death sentence.
His legal team is now taking the case to the Texas Supreme Court, alleging that the evidence should be thrown out because it violates Hall's Sixth Amendment rights.
The team's decision comes after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied a previous appeal.
This story was originally published by KXXVin Waco, Texas; with additions from Scripps National News.
