RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A Virginia inmate scheduled to be put to death this week for the slayings of two young girls has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt his execution.
Ricky Gray filed an emergency appeal with the high court on Tuesday. Gray is scheduled to be executed Wednesday for the slayings of 9-year-old Stella Harvey and her 4-year-old sister Ruby. Gray was convicted of killing the girls and their parents at their home on New Year's Day 2006.
Gray is challenging the state's plans to use lethal injection drugs from a secret compounding pharmacy. A federal court in Richmond and the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals have rejected Gray's efforts to put his execution on hold so that he can bring his legal challenge.
Gray says the use of compounded midazolam will cause him a cruel and painful death.
