TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida death row inmate facing execution next Wednesday is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Sixty-one-year-old Manuel Valle was convicted of killing a Coral Gables police officer 33 years ago.
His state-paid lawyers on Thursday asked for a stay of execution.
The attorneys also are seeking reversal of a Florida Supreme Court decision they cannot file a civil rights case on Valle’s behalf.
If that ruling based on a state law stands, they would be unable to challenge the state’s denial of clemency proceedings in his case in federal court.
Valle’s lawyers say that would violate his due process and equal protection rights.
The state justices and a federal appellate court have lifted stays of execution they ordered after Gov. Rick Scott signed his death warrant on June 30.
Source: Associated Press
