AP reports that the Supreme Court has stayed Mississippi's execution of Earl Berry less than an hour before he was scheduled for lethal injection.
The stay, based upon the high Court's previous grant of certiorari to a Kentucky case challenging lethal injections, probably imposes a de facto moratorium on executions throughout the US.
I'm overjoyed.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court halted an execution in Mississippi Tuesday, less than an hour before a convicted killer was scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection.
The last-minute reprieve for Earl Wesley Berry is the third granted by the justices since they agreed late last month to decide a challenge to Kentucky's lethal injection procedures.
Justices Samuel Alito and Antonin Scalia would have allowed the execution to go forward.
The significance of the stay is that in effect it imposes a moratorium across the US on lethal injection executions.
The Supreme Court has allowed only one execution to go forward since agreeing to hear the Kentucky case [challenging lethal injections] . Michael Richard was executed in Texas on Sept. 25, the same day the court said it would hear a lethal injection challenge from two death row inmates in Kentucky. State and lower federal courts have halted all other scheduled executions since then.
Berry asked for a delay at least until the court issues its decision in the Kentucky case. He claims the mixture of deadly chemicals Mississippi uses will cause unnecessary pain, constituting cruel and unusual punishment.
This is a cause for celebration. It likely means there will be no more executions until the Court rules on the Kentucky case, a ruling expected next year.
The real heroes in this moratorium are all of the lawyers who have tirelessly pursued these difficult appeals and the attacks on the lethal injection procedures. This is an amazing moment, regardless of the ultimate outcome in the Supreme Court. A special HT to these people and my gratitude. You are all heroes.
Updated (7:53 pm ET): The New York Times just put up an article that has a decent analysis of the background of the stay.
Updated (8:22 pm ET): The American Bar Association has called for a Death Penalty Moratorium. The stay from the Supreme Court and the ABA's announcement belong together. HT to Inland.