The U.S. Supreme Court will not stop Tuesday’s scheduled execution of Michael Tisius. The high court has denied the 42-year-old man’s request to block Missouri from putting him to death.
The court’s decision follows a Kansas City Star story reporting an appeals court overturned a stay that temporarily blocked the execution. A lower federal court said a hearing should be held because a juror was not qualified to serve due to their lack of reading or writing skills. Missouri law requires members of the jury to be able to read and write. A federal appeals court disagreed with the lower court’s decision.
Tisius was convicted in the killings of two Randolph County jail workers in a plot to break out an inmate in 2000.
Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty (MADP) was one of the groups who has stated that Tisius should not be killed because his brain wasn’t fully developed. He was 19 at the time of the crime.
“So, in the law, I think we’ve recognized that if you are a person who is in this classification, who is younger than 21, that you should not be executed,” said Nimrod Chapel, Jr., president MADP Board Chair and President of the Missouri NAACP. “Here, we have a clear, clear case of it and it’s unfortunate because I think Missouri could really make better choices.”
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s office says the governor will issue a decision later today.
Tisius’ execution could happen as early as 6 p.m. Tuesday at the state prison in Bonne Terre.
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