The Supreme Court granted a rare reprieve to a convicted murderer in Alabama after the inmate argued that proceeding with his scheduled execution without his pastor’s presence in the death chamber violated the man’s First Amendment-protected religious freedoms.
The full title of the case is Jefferson S. Dunn, Commissioner, Alabama Department of Corrections v. Willie B. Smith III. The stay appeared to have been granted just after 11 p.m. on Feb. 11. The execution is expected to be rescheduled after a new execution warrant replaces the one that expired less than an hour after the Supreme Court ruled.
