Court lifts stays of execution for 3 Death Row inmates


Apr 21, 10:05 AM (ET)


WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court has cleared the way for Alabama,
Mississippi and Texas to set new execution dates for three inmates
who were granted last-minute reprieves by the justices last year.

The court on Monday turned down appeals from Thomas Arthur of
Alabama, Earl Wesley Berry of Mississippi and Carlton Turner of
Texas. The court blocked their executions last fall while it
considered a challenge to Kentucky's lethal injection procedures.

The justices said those procedures are not unconstitutionally cruel,
a decision that almost certainly will lead to a resumption of
executions after a 7-month hiatus.

The high court's last-minute orders temporarily sparing the three
inmates automatically expired when the justices denied their appeals
Monday.