SCOTUS won’t lift stay of execution for Ga. inmate

SCOTUS won’t lift stay of execution for Ga. inmate

ATLANTA (AP) — The execution of a Georgia man whose attorneys claim he is mentally disabled is still on hold after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to lift a stay.

The court’s decision means Warren Lee Hill will not likely be scheduled for execution before the state’s current supply of a lethal injection drug expires next week.

Hill was one of two Georgia inmates to be executed this week. The other was also granted a stay, though the state has appealed.

Hill was convicted in the 1990 beating death of fellow inmate Joseph Handspike. At the time, Hill was serving a life sentence for killing his girlfriend.

The state says the defense has failed to meet its burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that Hill is mentally disabled.