In U.S. executions, decades of delay, last-minute stays called cruel

Texas convicted murderer John Balentine made the round trip of 100 miles from death row to the execution chamber and back last week, a journey most condemned inmates make one way. Set to be executed on Wednesday shortly after 6 p.m. local time, Balentine was transported from his cell in Polunsky, Texas to the execution facility in Huntsville and placed in a small holding cell outside the death chamber.

Just after 5 p.m., he was informed that the U.S. Supreme Court had stayed his execution. He smiled but showed no other emotion, said Jason Clark, spokesman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. In 2011, Balentine was also one hour away from execution when he received a stay. A delay was granted less than 24 hours before Balentine was to die in 2009. While three stays of execution for one person is unusual, some Americans say the slow grind of legal justice, sometimes followed by appeals that result in last-minute stays of execution, are cruel both to inmates and the families of their crime victims.

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