Montgomery – A federal judge has put Alabama's next scheduled execution on hold. U.S. District Judge Keith Watkins delayed the scheduled execution of James Harvey Callahan on January 31st until the judge can hold a trial on a lawsuit filed by Callahan.
The inmate's lawsuit claims Alabama's lethal injection procedures are unconstitutionally cruel.
The judge has not set a trial date for Callahan's lawsuit because he's awaiting a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on a similar case from Kentucky.
Callahan was convicted of capital murder for the kidnapping, rape and strangulation of a 26-year-old woman in Jacksonville in 1982.
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