Supreme Court stays execution of Mississippi man

Lawyer Blogs

[##_1L|1155413914.jpg|width="140" height="105" alt=""|_##]The US Supreme Court late Tuesday halted the execution of a Mississippi prisoner just moments before he was set to die, officials from the state Department of Corrections said. Executions have been effectively placed on hold across the United States until the Supreme Court rules on whether lethal injections -- used in virtually all US executions -- are "cruel and unusual" punishment, as banned under the US constitution.

Earl Wesley Berry was set to be executed at 6 pm (2300 GMT Tuesday), but the procedure was halted when the Mississippi Department of Corrections received the ruling from the Supreme Court ordering a stay of execution at 5:41 pm (2241 GMT).

"Now that the United States Supreme Court has deemed the method of execution needs to be reviewed, the state (of Mississippi) will await the final order of the court," read a Department of Corrections statement.

"The agency will work within any newly established guidelines to ensure that executions are carried out in a constitutional manner."

The Supreme Court did not give reasons for the stay or say who voted for or against it, but an earlier Court statement said that two of the court's conservative justices, Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito, opposed staying the execution.

Five votes of the seven top US justices must approve a stay of execution for it to be enacted.

Berry was on death row for killing a woman in 1987.

Related listings

  • Judge Extends Microsoft Timeframe

    Judge Extends Microsoft Timeframe

    Lawyer Blogs 10/31/2007

     federal judge in Washington, D.C., has extended the timeframe for considering several states' arguments for five additional years of oversight of Microsoft Corp.'s competitive practices, and the software maker's arguments against that extension...

  • Penn Hills woman pleads guilty in Duquesne shooting

    Penn Hills woman pleads guilty in Duquesne shooting

    Lawyer Blogs 10/31/2007

    [##_1L|1246400235.jpg|width="120" height="101" alt=""|_##]A former Duquesne University student pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges that she helped her armed friends get into a school dance the night five basketball players were shot and wounded. Britta...

  • Hexcel Pays US $15M for Defective Bullet-Proof Vests

    Hexcel Pays US $15M for Defective Bullet-Proof Vests

    Lawyer Blogs 10/30/2007

    [##_1L|1352335228.jpg|width="150" height="119" alt=""|_##]Hexcel Corporation of Stamford, Conn., has agreed to pay the United States $15 million to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act in connection with its role in the manufacture an...

Grounds for Divorce in Ohio - Sylkatis Law, LLC

A divorce in Ohio is filed when there is typically “fault” by one of the parties and party not at “fault” seeks to end the marriage. A court in Ohio may grant a divorce for the following reasons:
• Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Fraudulent contract
• Any gross neglect of duty
• Habitual drunkenness
• Imprisonment in a correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
• Procurement of a divorce outside this state by the other party

Additionally, there are two “no-fault” basis for which a court may grant a divorce:
• When the parties have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
• Incompatibility, unless denied by either party

However, whether or not the the court grants the divorce for “fault” or not, in Ohio the party not at “fault” will not get a bigger slice of the marital property.

Business News

St Peters, MO Professional License Attorney Attorney John Lynch has been the go-to choice for many professionals facing administrative sanction. >> read