USA - Louisiana. Sepulvado set for Wednesday execution wins 90-day delay

Christopher Sepulvado set for Wednesday execution wins 90-day delay, trial regarding drugs. Christopher Sepulvado was granted a 90-day stay of execution today, just 2 days before he was set to be killed with a new, controversial combination of lethal-injection drugs. The state and Sepulvado's attorney's agreed to a 90-day temporary restraining order after a closed-door meeting with U.S. District Court Judge James Brady, said Pam Laborde, spokeswoman for the state Department of Safety and Corrections. The meeting was held in Brady's chambers to discuss recent changes in Louisiana's lethal injection protocol. A trial on the constitutionality of the state's execution method is scheduled to begin April 7. Last week the state announced it would be using a mix of the sedative midazolam and the painkiller hydromorphone. The deadly concoction was used earlier this month in Ohio, where it reportedly caused convicted rapist and killer Dennis McGuire to gasp and snort for 15 minutes before dying. Sepulvado was sentenced to death in 1993 for killing his stepson. He beat the 6-year-old child with a screwdriver and held him in scalding water.