Today's Miami Herald reports, "Federal court halts execution of Miami killer Marshall Lee Gore," by David Ovalle.
A federal appeals court on Monday temporarily halted the execution of Miami killer Marshall Lee Gore, about an hour before he was set to die by lethal injection.Gore, 49, was to be executed for the March 1988 strangulation-and-stabbing murder of Lauderhill’s Robyn Novick.
And:
Gore’s reprieve, however, may not last long — the court quickly set a Thursday court date for his lawyers in the case to explore the possibility that Gore is insane. The U.S. Supreme Court has long held that the execution of insane inmates is cruel and unusual punishment.
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Atlanta, said it would try to settle the matter before July 1.
Gore’s claim that he cannot be executed because he is insane mirrors that of John Ferguson, a Miami mass killer who earned a stay of execution in October.
The same federal court rejected Ferguson’s appeal, but it took seven months for the judges to rule. A new execution date for Ferguson has not been set.
"Appeals court delays execution," is the AP coverage by Tamara Lush. It's via Florida Today.
A former escort service owner convicted in the slayings of two Florida women was granted a temporary stay of execution Monday, hours before he was to have received a lethal injection for one of those deaths.
Marshall Lee Gore had been scheduled to die at the Florida State Prison at 6 p.m. for the 1988 slaying of Robyn Novick, a 30-year-old exotic dancer. But the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals approved a motion filed by Gore’s attorney less than two hours before the procedure was expected to begin.
"Protesters celebrate stay of Gore's execution," is by Kristine Crane for the Ocala Star Banner.
For Mark Elliott, of the Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, “it was a good news day.” That's what he told the crowd of about 50 anti-death penalty protesters gathered outside the grounds of the Florida State Prison early Monday evening.
The protesters had just heard that the execution of Marshall Lee Gore had been temporarily stayed, or canceled, after the federal 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta approved a motion by Gore's attorney based on a claim that Gore is insane and therefore ineligible for execution. A hearing on the case will be held on Thursday.
The protesters stood in a circle and said a prayer, and then sang “Amazing Grace” — which they also do in the event of an execution.
“If there was ever a thing not to take place, this is it,” Elliott told the protesters — many of whom were from Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Daytona Beach, a group that regularly sits in vigil outside the prison during the executions.
They are led by the Rev. Phil Egitto, who has been bringing protesters for the past decade. Egitto's stance on the death penalty is the same regardless of the crimes of those convicted.
Earlier coverage from Florida begins at the link.
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