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The U.S. Supreme Court stopped the execution of Gary Leon Brown about 8 hours before he was to be executed. Brown, sentenced to die for the 1986 death of Jack David McGraw, contends electrocution is impermissibly cruel and unusual punishment. His defense also contends the execution should be halted until the high court rules in an Arizona case (Ring v. Arizona) involving the way sentences are imposed. The Supreme Court halted Brown's execution until the justices have time to consider his appeal. The Supreme Court agreed earlier this year to hear a case from Arizona that asks whether a judge instead of a jury can decide whether a convicted killer deserves the death penalty. In Alabama, the jury recommends death or life without parole, but the judge is not bound by the recommendation.