Judge halts Kentucky execution planned for next week, says death protocol doesn’t match law

Judge halts Kentucky execution set for next week

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A local judge in Kentucky has halted an execution planned for next week, ruling that the state’s protocol for administering a lethal injection does not match up with state law.

Franklin County Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd ruled Friday to stop the Thursday execution of 53-year-old Gregory L. Wilson. He was convicted of kidnapping, raping and murdering a woman in 1987.

Shepherd ruled that the state’s procedure for executing an inmate doesn’t properly address using a one-drug injection. He also ruled that the state has no way to verify that a condemned inmate is not mentally retarded or insane.

The state attorney general’s office says it plans to appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court.