WASHINGTON (CN) - The U.S. Supreme Court halted the execution of a Texas death-row inmate until it has reconsiders the constitutionality of lethal injection.
The last-minute reprieve for Carlton Turner Jr. came less than two hours before the death warrant would have expired. The high court agreed to review the controversial method of capital punishment. Opponents claim lethal injection is unconstitutionally cruel. Thirty-seven states use a three-drug cocktail of sodium Pentothal, pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride. The first drug anesthetizes inmates, the second paralyzes them and the third causes cardiac arrest. The justices issued the stay without comment.
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