May 24, 2013
The U.S. Supreme Court is lifting stays of execution granted five months ago to two Florida death row inmates.
On Monday, the court ruled the capital punishment laws in Arizona and four other states were unconstitutional. That's because judges had imposed death sentences and not juries. But the impact of Monday's ruling was unclear in Florida, where the law is slightly different.
The court vacated stays for convicted killers Linroy Bottoson and Amos King. Both executions were stayed last February. A death row defense lawyer said the ruling sends their cases back to Florida courts, meaning more litigation.
