Texas Won't Halt Executions, Despite Stay

State will stick to schedule after Supreme Court ruling
By Katherine Thompson,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 29, 2007 9:37 AM CDT
Texas Won't Halt Executions, Despite Stay
Alabama's lethal injection chamber at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Ala., is pictured in this Oct. 7, 2002 file photo. Anti-death penalty forces have gained momentum in the past few years, with a moratorium in Illinois, court disputes over lethal injection in more than a half-dozen states...   (Associated Press)

Texas officials plan to go forward with death-row executions, even as other states put them on hold in the wake of the Supreme Court's last-minute stay for Carlton Turner earlier this week. More stays like Turner's are expected in Texas as the court deliberates on the legality of lethal injections, reports the New York Times.

The Supreme Court is expected to rule sometime next year on whether the chemical formula of lethal injections violates the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the constitution. Eleven states have stopped executions, but in Texas, officials insist  that they "will continue to address each scheduled execution on a case-by-case basis," a course of action likely to invite more appeals. (More US Supreme Court stories.)

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