Two-and-a-half hours before the scheduled execution of Missouri death-row inmate Herbert Smulls, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a temporary stay. The court will rule Wednesday on the fate of the 56-year-old, who was convicted of killing a St. Louis County jeweler in 1991. His lawyer is arguing that the state’s failure to disclose the compounding pharmacy that the execution drug was purchased from leaves it unable to know whether the formula could cause pain and suffering. The Supreme Court is expected to rule later Wednesday.
