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| U.S. Supreme Court stops Texas execution |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 12/11/2003 |
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The U.S. Supreme Court halted the execution Wednesday of a condemned inmate who was part of a lawsuit that challenged one of the drugs used to carry out the death sentence. Kevin Lee Zimmerman's reprieve came about 20 minutes before he could have been put to death for a fatal stabbing and robbery at a Beaumont motel in 1987. In a brief order, Justice Antonin Scalia stopped the punishment pending an additional order from him or the court. The lawsuit was filed on Zimmerman's behalf, despite his opposition. The lawsuit had allowed another inmate, Billy Frank Vickers, to avoid the death chamber Tuesday. Rejection of the lawsuit Wednesday by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals cleared the way for Zimmerman's execution until the Supreme Court order was issued. Citing the constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment, the lawsuit sought to stop use of pancuronium bromide -- a drug that paralyzes muscles. Texas, the first state to execute condemned inmates by injection, uses a combination of three drugs: pancuronium bromide, the barbiturate sodium thiopental and potassium chloride, which causes cardiac arrest. Vickers' execution was postponed when the 5th Circuit failed to rule by midnight, and the death warrant expired. After the appeals court rejected the case Wednesday, it was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The lawsuit was patterned after a Tennessee death row inmate's suit, now on appeal, that cites an American Veterinary Medical Association condemnation of the drug. Zimmerman's execution was the last scheduled for this year, when 24 inmates were executed. The total is the highest in the nation and about average for the most active death penalty state. |
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