The U.S. Supreme Court granted a stay of execution for a Texas man just before his planned lethal injection in the killing of an 85-year-old woman decades ago. The nation's high court issued the stay about 20 minutes before Ruben Gutierrez was to have been taken to the Huntsville, Texas, death chamber for execution Tuesday evening. The 47-year-old inmate was condemned for the 1998 stabbing of 85-year-old Escolastica Harrison. Gutierrez says he did not kill the woman and has long sought DNA testing he claims would help prove he had no role in her death. The brief order from the high court said its stay of execution would remain in effect until the justices decide whether they should review his appeal request.
