30 September 2010 :

U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel reversed course and granted Albert Greenwood Brown a reprieve just two days before his scheduled execution, concluding that he didn't have enough time to complete his legal review of California's new lethal injection procedures. Unless overturned by a federal appeals court or the U.S. Supreme Court, Judge Fogel's ruling ensures that California will not be able to carry out its 1st execution in nearly 5 years. In an unprecedented quirk, California's supply of 1 of the 3 drugs needed to carry out a lethal injection hits its expiration date on Friday, and Fogel's decision to grant a stay means the state will not be able to execute Brown -- or any other inmate -- until at least sometime next year. The 56-year-old Brown, who had already ordered his last meal, was scheduled to die at 9 p.m. Thursday. Fogel, in his ruling, vowed to try to resolve the ongoing challenge to lethal injection by the end of the year, but he blamed state officials for rushing to set an execution date. Brown is on death row since 1982 for the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl.