Supreme Court Stops Execution After 11th Circuit Lifts a Stay
The U.S. Supreme Court stayed the execution of Alabama inmate James Harvey Callahan yesterday a little more than an hour before he was scheduled to die.
The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled Tuesday that the execution could proceed because Callahan waited too long to file his challenge. Lawyers for Callahan argued in their stay request (PDF posted by SCOTUSblog) that the 11th Circuit used a statute of limitations theory that had not been raised by the state and was not before the court, SCOTUSblog reports.
The Supreme Court has blocked several executions since it agreed to hear a challenge to lethal injections in Kentucky. The court heard oral arguments earlier this month.
The nation’s last execution was in September, the Associated Press reports. Callahan was convicted of the 1982 murder of a college student.
The 11th Circuit ruled (PDF posted by SCOTUSblog) that Callahan should have filed his legal challenge within two years of the time he first selected lethal injection as his execution method.
