[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] on Thursday stayed the execution [order, PDF] of Florida death row inmate Mark Dean Schwab [FCCD profile, DOC] "pending the timely filing and disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari." Schwab was scheduled to be executed at 6 PM ET on Thursday. The stay will terminate automatically if Schwab's petition for certiorari is denied. AP has more.

Earlier Thursday, the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued [JURIST report] a per curiam opinion [PDF text] overturning a district court order to stay Schwab's execution. The federal district court blocked Schwab's execution [AFP report] on Wednesday pending the US Supreme Court's decision in Baze v. Rees [cert. petition, PDF; JURIST report] (07-5439), where the court will rule on the constitutionality of lethal injections.