Supreme Court Halts Texas Execution

David Savage, reporting for the LA Times:

The U.S. Supreme Court stopped Texas officials Thursday evening from executing a Houston murderer who was sentenced to die after jurors were told he posed a greater danger to public safety because he is black.

The justices acted on an emergency appeal after Texas Gov. Rick Perry and state judges refused to intervene. […]

The reprieve came nearly two hours into a six-hour window when Buck could have been executed, but state officials did not act while his emergency appeal was pending.

That these reprieves come at the last hour, just like in the movies, always strikes me as crazy and cruel.

★ Friday, 16 September 2011