Court lifts stay of execution for serial killer

A death penalty opponent picks up a battery-powered candle outside St. Francis Xavier Church during a vigil in protest of the scheduled execution of death row inmate Joseph Paul Franklin, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2013, in St. Louis. A federal judge granted a stay of execution to Franklin on Tuesday, just hours before his scheduled death, citing concerns over a new execution method. AP

BONNE TERRE, Missouri— A federal appeals court in Missouri has upheld the execution of white supremacist serial killer Joseph Paul Franklin, restoring the state’s plans to kill him just hours after the execution was blocked.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled early Wednesday that Missouri could proceed with Franklin’s execution. Earlier, a lower court blocked the execution and claimed the state’s disputed protocol for administering lethal injection must be resolved.

The latest ruling means that only the U.S. Supreme Court can intervene and stop the execution.

The lower court judge said the state had not satisfied questions about the production of the pentobarbital Missouri planned to use. The judge chastised Missouri’s frequently changing lethal injection plans, calling them a “frustratingly moving target.”