Court halts execution of inmate
The state Supreme Court halted the execution of condemned inmate William Castillo 90 minutes before he was to die by lethal injection for beating an elderly woman to death.
The high court in Carson City ordered the last-minute stay after a hearing on a petition filed by the American Civil Liberties Union to stop any executions pending the outcome of a U.S. Supreme Court review of lethal injection methods.
The high court will hear a challenge early next year from two Kentucky inmates who say the three-drug cocktail used in injections amounts to cruel and unusual punishment, a violation of the 8th Amendment.
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