The US Supreme Court granted a stay of execution to Mississippi death-row inmate Earl Wesley Berry moments before he was due to die. His lawyers requested the execution be stopped until the court rules on whether death by lethal injection is unconstitutional. His temporary reprieve adds to a series of stays granted since a challenge was mounted in Kentucky in September, and expected to be decided early next year. Commentators say courts will probably interpret the Supreme Court ruling as a signal that they should impose an unofficial moratorium on executions until the Kentcky ruling. Berry murdered Mary Bounds, 57, 20 years ago as she was leaving choir practice.
While the method of execution may be changed, there is not yet enough momentum to eliminate capital punishment in the US.
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