Supreme Court denies last-minute request to halt Missouri execution
Mary Beth Marklein, USA TODAY 7:12 p.m. EST January 29, 2014
The U.S. Supreme Court has denied last-minute requests to halt the execution of a Missouri man convicted of killing a local jeweler two decades ago.
The high court issued a temporary stay less than three hours before Herbert Smulls was scheduled to be executed at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.
But the court lifted the stay without explanation late Wednesday afternoon, meaning the execution can move forward.
The ruling could signal how much information states must disclose regarding the drugs they use for lethal injections in death-penalty executions.
Witnesses to the execution were told to report to the Bonne Terre prison by noon Wednesday and await further instruction from the high court.
The execution had been scheduled for 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, but that changed late Tuesday night after his lawyer, Cheryl Pilate, made last-minute pleas to spare his life.
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The high court issued a temporary stay less than three hours before Herbert Smulls was scheduled to be executed at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.
But the court lifted the stay without explanation late Wednesday afternoon, meaning the execution can move forward.
The ruling could signal how much information states must disclose regarding the drugs they use for lethal injections in death-penalty executions.
Witnesses to the execution were told to report to the Bonne Terre prison by noon Wednesday and await further instruction from the high court.
The execution had been scheduled for 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, but that changed late Tuesday night after his lawyer, Cheryl Pilate, made last-minute pleas to spare his life.
continue to read here