A 39-year-old Nicaraguan man who was scheduled to be executed in Huntsville, Texas on Wednesday has been given a reprieve.

Bernardo Tercero was sentenced to death in 2000 for the 1997 murder of a Houston school teacher named Robert Berger.

On Tuesday a Texas court ruled that the execution would be postponed until an issue regarding his appeal was resolved. As reported by the BBC, Tercero’s legal team claims that a witness for the prosecution has come forward to say that she offered false testimony. A court will be reviewing the new claim.

Robert Berger, the murdered educator, was in a dry cleaning store when Tercero came in to attempt armed robbery. Berger interfered and was shot dead before his 3-year-old daughter.

According to Tercero, the gun went off accidentally as he struggled with Berger. An acquaintance of Tercero's had previously informed the court that he had given her various reasons for why he killed Berger. One reason being that the teacher would be able to identify him. This information is now being reexamined.

Tercero, who, according to the Texas Department of Justice, was 19 at the time of the offence, has denied saying any of this. 

As reported by The Associated Press, the case attracted attention in Nicaragua where a plea for clemency from President Daniel Ortega was forwarded to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

John Wittman, a spokesman for Abbott, responded that state and federal courts have rejected Tercero's appeals at least five times. Wittman said, "When anyone commits a crime in Texas, they are subject to Texas law."

Tercero, who maintains that the shooting was accidental, is unsure even as to who might have fired the gun, saying, "I believe it could have been me or him."

Without this last minute reprieve Tercero would have been the 11th prisoner put to death in Texas this year.