Louisiana delays execution after challenge to lethal drug combo

(Reuters) - Louisiana was ordered on Monday to delay for 90 days the execution of a convicted killer that had been planned with a mix of the same two drugs that left a condemned Ohio inmate gasping and convulsing as he was put to death. Christopher Sepulvado had been scheduled to die on Wednesday at a Louisiana prison using a combination of the sedative midazolam and pain killer hydromorphone if the regularly listed drug pentobarbital was unavailable. U.S. District Court Judge James Brady ordered the execution delayed at least until May 4 and set a trial to begin April 7 on a defense challenge to the constitutionality of the state's execution methods. "The stay will allow additional time for review and responses to outstanding issues related to the execution," Louisiana's corrections department said in a statement.



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