The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fiffth Circuit ruling in Hoffman v. Jindal, et al (including Supulvado v. Jindal, et al) is available in Adobe .pdf format.
"Court overturns Christopher Sepulvado's stay of execution," is Associated Press coverage, via the Shreveport Times.
A federal appeals court has overturned a judge's order that canceled the execution of a DeSoto Parish man who was convicted of fatally beating and scalding his 6-year-old stepson in 1992.A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday ruled that U.S. District Judge James Brady abused his discretion when he stayed the Feb. 13 execution date for Christopher Sepulvado.
Brady ruled in February that Louisiana officials have provided too little information about the execution methods and the drug that will be used in the lethal injection.
But the 5th Circuit panel said it found "no equitable basis for further delay."
The Baton Rouge Advocate reports, "Appellate court reverses stay for convicted child killer," by Joe Gyan Jr.
Sepulvado’s attorney, Capital Post-Conviction Project of Louisiana Director Gary Clements, said the fight is not over.
“Mr. Sepulvado disagrees with today’s decision ... and intends to file further legal challenges of that opinion, in the form of a motion for a rehearing and, if necessary, subsequent litigation to the United States Supreme Court,” he said.
“The issue of exactly how the state of Louisiana intends to execute Mr. Sepulvado remains unanswered, and we will continue to litigate his right to discover and challenge the execution process, which remains shrouded in secrecy,” Clemens said.
In his February ruling, Brady said the information Sepulvado’s attorneys sought from the state included questions about the supply of death-dealing drugs used for lethal injections.
Before 2010, Louisiana used a three-drug procedure to execute inmates. Since 2010, the first drug in the procedure — sodium thiopental — has been unavailable. In December 2010, the state repealed the section of its administrative code spelling out the specific procedures to be followed in lethal injections.
"Appeals court lifts stay of execution for death-row inmate," is by Juliet Linderman for the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
A federal appeals court on Friday lifted a stay of execution of death-row inmate Christopher Sepulvado, a Shreveport-area man convicted in 1993 of fatally beating and scalding his 6-year-old son.
A three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals unanimously reversed a February lower court decision granting a preliminary injunction and stay, as his attorneys challenged the constitutionality of Louisiana's lethal-injection protocol.
The Lens posts, "Appeals court lets execution move forward," by Della Hasselle.
“A preliminary injunction is an extraordinary remedy,” the ruling reads, going on to state, “the district court abused its discretion by granting Sepulvado’s untimely motion for a stay.”
The change of ruling on Sepulvado’s stay of execution raises questions that The Lens has been asking since earlier this year: Does the state have the drugs needed to carry out executions, and, if so, when do those drugs expire?
The Louisiana Department of Corrections has not provided that information to The Lens, stating instead that records establishing expiration date or current inventory of its supply of pentobarbital were unavailable.
“As I’m sure you are aware … the Department is not required to create a document where one does not exist in responding to a public records request,” DOC communications director Pam Laborde told The Lens in April.
Earlier coverage from Louisiana begins at the link.
Comments