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August 30, 2008 11:59:48 CDT

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Court Blocks Another Execution

Posted Oct 30, 07 10:38 PM CDT in US 

(Newser) – The Supreme Court tonight stayed the execution of a Mississippi murderer just before he was scheduled to die by lethal injection, a decision that will likely bring a temporary halt to such executions nationwide, the New York Times reports. The fate of this prisoner and others won't be decided until the spring, when the court reviews whether lethal injections constitute "cruel and unusual" punishment.

Earl Berry has been waiting to be executed 19 years for the murder of a 56-year-old woman he kidnapped and beat to death. He raised no appeal based on the execution method until a few days ago, when he joined a growing number of inmates to do so. States will likely postpone any subsequent executions until the court decides on a case from Kentucky, the Times says.

Source New York Times

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A relative, left, hugs Jena Watson, the daughter of Mary Bounds, the 1987 kidnapping and murder victim, after a news conference with state Department of Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps, following...   (Associated Press)
This Feb. 21, 2001 file photo provided by the Mississippi Department of Corrections shows Mississippi inmate Earl Wesley Berry in Parchman, Miss. The Supreme Court halted an execution in Mississippi Tuesday,...   (Associated Press)
Charles Bounds faces state Department of Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps, right, while expressing his disappointment over the stay of execution for death row inmate Earl Wesley Berry. The inmate killed...   (Associated Press)
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US Supreme Court  • death penalty  • lethal injection  • Antonin Scalia  • Samuel A. Alito  • Earl Berry  • Baze v. Rees



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