USA - Mississippi. US District Judge Henry Wingate halted executions in the state

Richard Gerald Jordan, on death row since 1976, has had his execution halted after US District Judge Henry Wingate demanded to know if the use of lethal-injections is painful. The ruling shuts down the use of the death penalty in Mississippi until the case is heard. His decision came almost a month after the Attorney General's Office in the state asked the Supreme Court to set an execution date no later than Thursday for Jordan. The 69-year-old along with another death row inmate have alleged the combination of drugs Mississippi has been using in lethal injections could cause them great pain before killing them. Prison officials cannot now use pentobarbital or midazolam, 2 drugs used to make prisoners unconscious. Mississippi law requires a 3-drug process, with the sedative followed by a paralysing agent and a drug that stops an inmate's heart. If pain is caused in the use of the lethal injection it would violate the constitutional mandate against cruel and unusual punishment. Jordan's lawyers in New Orleans had asked the judge to issue a preliminary injunction preventing the setting of an execution date until he rules on the lawsuit. Wingate granted the request today ensuring the convicted killer will have a stay of execution until a decision has been made. Jordan, the state's longer serving inmate on death row, was sentenced to death in 1977 after he was foun guilty of shooting dead Edwina Marter in January 1976. He had kidnapped the 33-year-old before demanding a $50,000 ransom.