US Inmate Dodges Execution For Seventh Time

WASHINGTON, Nov 4, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 04th Nov, 2016 ) - An inmate set to die by lethal injection in the southern US state of Alabama was granted an 11th-hour reprieve late Thursday, his latest stay of execution.

The late-night order by the Supreme Court in Washington was the seventh time that Thomas Arthur, 74, has seen his scheduled execution called off. Arthur had been scheduled to die at 6 pm at the prison in Altmore, following decades-long imprisonment for his conviction in the 1982 murder of his mistress's husband.

But officials delayed the timing of the execution as they waited for the court's decision.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas issued an order about 10:30 pm Thursday temporarily halting the execution until he or other justices made another decision, a court document said.

Just before midnight, the Supreme Court granted Arthur's request to stay the execution, the Washington Post reported. It would remain in place until the full court decides whether it will consider the case.

"We are greatly relieved by the Supreme Court's decision granting a stay and now hope for the opportunity to present the merits of Mr. Arthur's claims to the Court," Suhana Han, Arthur's lead counsel, told AFP.