Delay of Texas death row inmate’s execution has not been the norm for Supreme Court, experts say

Associated Press

HOUSTON (AP) — Texas death row inmate Ruben Gutierrez was only 20 minutes away from being executed when the U.S. Supreme Court granted his request to stay his lethal injection at the state prison in Huntsville. Tuesday’s decision by the Supreme Court to grant an 11th hour reprieve for Gutierrez, convicted of fatally stabbing an 85-year-old woman, has not been the norm for the nation’s highest court. Experts say the majority of justices have expressed skepticism and even hostility to such requests to delay executions. Gutierrez’s wife and lawyer were overjoyed by the stay while the victim’s family members say they were devasted.