The North Carolina Supreme Court stayed the execution...
The North Carolina Supreme Court stayed the execution of convicted killer Henry Lee Hunt on Wednesday, less than 36 hours before the Lumbee Indian was scheduled to die
The North Carolina Supreme Court stayed the execution of convicted killer Henry Lee Hunt on Wednesday, less than 36 hours before the Lumbee Indian was scheduled to die.
State justices agreed to an April hearing on Hunt's claim that the indictment form used against him 19 years ago violated the US Constitution because it failed to explain why he was charged with first-degree murder. The state court has upheld so-called "short-form" indictments several times, but the US Supreme Court recently rejected their use in an Arizona case.
N.C. Department of Justice officials warned that the state Supreme Court could open the door to hundreds of appeals if it sides with Hunt.
"This question could affect not only this case but every capital case and death row inmate in North Carolina," said John Bason, a Justice Department spokesman.
Hunt, a 58-year-old former roofer from Robeson County, was convicted in 1985 for two shootings he says he didn't commit.
Hunt was scheduled to die at 2 a.m. Friday. He got news of the stay Wednesday in Central Prison's death watch area, a special cell near the execution chamber.
State justices agreed to an April hearing on Hunt's claim that the indictment form used against him 19 years ago violated the US Constitution because it failed to explain why he was charged with first-degree murder. The state court has upheld so-called "short-form" indictments several times, but the US Supreme Court recently rejected their use in an Arizona case.
N.C. Department of Justice officials warned that the state Supreme Court could open the door to hundreds of appeals if it sides with Hunt.
"This question could affect not only this case but every capital case and death row inmate in North Carolina," said John Bason, a Justice Department spokesman.
Hunt, a 58-year-old former roofer from Robeson County, was convicted in 1985 for two shootings he says he didn't commit.
Hunt was scheduled to die at 2 a.m. Friday. He got news of the stay Wednesday in Central Prison's death watch area, a special cell near the execution chamber.
— SOURCES
- (Sources: Charlotte Observer, 23/01/2003)