the state's plans to execute convicted cop killer Philip Workman on Wednesday...

the state's plans to execute convicted cop killer Philip Workman on Wednesday stalled when a federal judge agreed that the state's new execution guidelines could conflict with the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. In issuing a temporary restraining order, U.S. District Judge Todd J. Campbell said more time is needed to examine the defense claims that "the new execution protocol exposes (Workman) to a foreseeable and likely unnecessary risk" of pain and suffering prohibited by the U.S. Constitution.
Those were the arguments earlier in the day when Kelley Henry, a federal public defender representing Workman, said the new execution procedure was worse than the flawed older method.
The state will "review the judge's opinion and then decide whether to appeal," said Sharon Curtis-Flair, spokeswoman for the Attorney General's Office.
The state's options would be to ask the court to reconsider the order or to appeal to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. Barring those moves, the execution will be put off until at least May 14, when Campbell will hold an 8 a.m. hearing. Workman, 53, was scheduled to be the first state inmate to die under new state guidelines that use a 3-drug combination for lethal injection.
Workman admits his part in a 1981 hold-up at a Memphis fast-food restaurant, but he denies firing the bullet that killed Memphis police Lt. Ronald Oliver during a subsequent shootout.
The appeals court could vacate the judge's order, which would put the execution back on for Wednesday.