Thursday, November 15, 2007

U.S. Supreme Court Halts Florida Execution

The U.S. Supreme Court has put a hold on Florida's scheduled execution of convicted child- killer, Mark Dean Schwab, only hours after an appeals court ruled the execution should proceed.

CBS News reports:

The U.S. Supreme Court halted the execution of a convicted child killer Thursday, hours before he was scheduled to die. The move by the United States' highest court was widely expected as it considers the appeals of two Kentucky inmates challenging the same lethal toxic three-drug combination used in Florida. Already, the high court has blocked executions in three other states since accepting the Kentucky case Sept. 25.

"The message from the justices is clear: no more executions until and unless we resolve the constitutionality of lethal injection as a method of execution," said CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen. "And that is not going to happen until next spring at the earliest, when the court determines whether lethal injections constitute cruel and unusual punishment."

ABA Journal has more on the decision.

(h/t - Tamara Eurke)

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net

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