A 3-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated the stay of the execution of John Middleton, scheduled to happen tonight at the prison in Bonne Terre.
John Middleton (courtesy; Missouri Department of Corrections)
A District Judge had granted the stay based on Middleton’s claim that he is not competent to be executed, and arguing that the state did not give him the opportunity to raise that claim.
His attorneys could appeal the ruling. The execution is still scheduled to happen just after midnight tonight, and if delayed, could potentially take place any time before midnight Wednesday night.