U.S. Supreme Court affirms stay of Hubert Michael execution

Convicted Pennsylvania killer Hubert L. Michael Jr.'s life was extended for at least two more weeks tonight when the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed a stay of execution granted earlier Thursday by a federal appeals court in Philadelphia.

"On behalf of Hubert Michael, we are extremely pleased that the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the stay of execution issued by the Court of Appeals," said Helen Marino, chief of the Federal Defender's death-penalty unit, which represented Michael.

"The courts recognized that there are compelling claims relating to Mr. Michael's debilitating mental conditions that have never been reviewed by any court [and] agreed that the Court of Appeals acted reasonably in light of the complexity of Mr. Michael's case."

Marc Bookman, executive director of the Philadelphia nonprofit Atlantic Center for Capital Representation, praised the courts for agreeing to take another look at the merits of Michael's appeal: "Mr. Michael's severe mental illness badly affected his ability to properly litigate his claims. I'm sure the District Court will examine the matter closely and determine the appropriate next step for the proceedings."

Michael, 56, had been scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection at 7 p.m. at the Rockview state prison in Centre County for the 1993 kidnap-murder of York County teen Trista Eng.

But in midafternoon, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit stayed the execution for at least 14 days.

The three-judge Third Circuit panel granted the stay and remanded the case to U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III so Jones could explain the why he permitted Michael to appeal further after deciding Wednesday to deny Michael's petition to stay the execution.

With just hours to go before Michael's execution, lawyers for the state Attorney General's Office filed an emergency petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the Third Circuit's ruling.

If executed, Michael would have been the first person put to death in Pennsylvania since 1999. Only three people have been executed since the state reenacted the death penalty in 1978 and all three had dropped their appeals and asked to die.

In 1994, Michael waived his right to a jury trial and pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the shooting of Eng, 16. Michael then waived his sentencing hearing, agreed that his case justified use of the death penalty, and accepted the death sentence from a York County judge.

Michael changed his mind in 2004, just weeks before his first scheduled execution, and state prosecutors say he effectively waived his right to appeal and seek a stay of execution.