Justices Stay Execution of Florida Killer
The Supreme Court blocked the execution of a man who killed a woman in her bathtub a decade ago, granting a stay to a Florida death row inmate for the second time in a week.
The court ordered Florida to stop the execution of Arthur Rutherford, who claims that the state’s lethal injection procedure is cruel and unusual punishment.
Florida inmate Clarence Hill won a Supreme Court stay last week after he had already been strapped to the gurney. He also challenged the use of lethal injection.
Justices said they would use Hill’s case to clarify how inmates might bring last-minute challenges to the way they would be put to death.
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