STARKE, Fla. (AP) — The execution of a Florida man convicted of shooting a police officer to death during a traffic stop in 1978 is being delayed while prison officials await an order from the U.S. Supreme Court.
Sixty-one-year-old Manuel Valle was scheduled to die at 4 p.m. Wednesday at the Florida State Prison. The governor’s office now says prison authorities are awaiting word from the nation’s high court.
Valle shot officer Louis Pena to death. He also shot officer Gary Spell, but he was saved by his bulletproof vest.
Valle’s lawyers have unsuccessfully argued that a new concoction of lethal drugs would cause him pain and therefore constitute cruel and unusual punishment.
The execution was originally scheduled for Aug. 2. It was twice delayed for appeals that were rejected.
Source: Associated Press
