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Missouri Execution called off Amid Court Review

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster is proposing to use money from consumer fraud cases to renovate the Broadway State Office Building.
David Shane
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Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster is proposing to use money from consumer fraud cases to renovate the Broadway State Office Building.

The state of Missouri has called off the execution of an inmate whose lethal injection was delayed by a last-minute ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court.

Missouri Attorney General's office spokeswoman Nanci Gonder told The Associated Press that the execution of Ernest Lee Johnson wouldn't be carried out on Wednesday.

Johnson was scheduled to die at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The state has 24 hours to carry out the lethal injection, but Gonder said the court case wouldn't be resolved by then.

The Supreme Court stepped in Tuesday evening, ruling that 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals needed to reconsider part of the case.

The appeals court has not scheduled a hearing.

If the courts rule that Johnson's execution can move forward, the Missouri Supreme Court would need to set a new date.

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