Supreme Court upholds stay of execution for Florida man

Source: Yahoo and Reuters

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a last-minute federal appeals court ruling granting a stay of execution to a mentally ill Florida man convicted of killing eight people, including two teenagers, during the 1970s.

John Errol Ferguson, 64, had been scheduled to be executed around 6 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT) but his lawyers filed a flurry of appeals late Tuesday arguing he should not be put to death because he is mentally insane.

The ruling by the 11th U.S. Circuit of Appeals establishes a schedule for additional briefs to be filed in Ferguson's case by November 6.

Ferguson, who has been on death row for 34 years, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in 1978 for a pair of killing sprees.

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