The U.S. Supreme Court ordered that Missouri temporarily halt the execution of Herbert Smulls, accused of murder, after his lawyers argued that the state refused to reveal the source of drugs to be used to execute him.
The 56-year-old Missouri death row inmate's execution was scheduled at 12:01 am local time, Wednesday. He was to be given a lethal dose of pentobarbital, a fast-acting barbiturate.
But the Supreme Court ordered a stay on the execution after 9 p.m. CST (0300 GMT), without giving any explanation, reported Reuters. The order was signed by Justice Samuel Alito and is temporarily pending further review by the court.
Smulls was convicted and sentenced to death for killing a St Louis county jeweler and severely injuring his wife during a 1991 robbery, reports the Associated Press. His lawyer, Cheryl Pilate said the stay is temporary as of now till the high court reviews the case. However, she said she was hopeful the stay would become permanent. "We're happy to get the stay and we're glad the court is reviewing it," she told AP.
Smulls' lawyers protested against the death sentence saying that the drugs are not pure and might cause undue suffering.
According to Reuters, Missouri and several other states have started using drugs by compounding pharmacies not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as regular pharmacies are not ready to supply such drugs.
"We have studied publicly available documents - information that any citizen can obtain - and concluded that the Apothecary Shoppe was the source," Pilate told the Guardian.
"We are being subjected to government secrecy at its most extreme. There is no greater manifestation of a state's power than to execute one of its citizens - and when that is done, it has to be done correctly," she added.
The U.S. District Court Judge Beth Phillips denied Smulls a 60-day stay of execution, Monday, citing a previous appeals court ruling that pentobarbital does not impose cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the constitution.
