An Alabama inmate convicted in the 1991 sword-and-dagger slaying of a pastor was spared a lethal injection when his death warrant expired before a divided U.S. Supreme Court voted early Friday to let the execution proceed. A federal judge on Thursday blocked the execution of Christopher Lee Price to weigh his challenge to Alabama's lethal injection procedure. Alabama is expected to seek a new execution date from a state court. Justices on April 1 voted 5-4 against a Missouri inmate who said lethal injection would cause severe pain because of a tumor in his throat. His lethal injection had been scheduled for 6 p.m., and Lynn's wife and daughters had planned to witness it, prisons spokesman Samantha Banks said.

Source: ABC News April 12, 2019 05:47 UTC