The U.S. Supreme Court delayed the execution of a Missouri death-row inmate with a birth defect less than two hours before his scheduled lethal injection, NBC News reported. Justice Samuel Alito delivered the order Tuesday night and the full court will go over death-row inmate Russell Bucklew's case on Wednesday. He has argued that his birth defect would make a lethal injection excruciating, which would violate the Constitution. His death warrant remains in effect until 12:01 a.m. Thursday so he could be executed at any point before then if he exhausts all appeals.
