Fla. Supreme Court stays Marek execution
TALLAHASSEE (AP) – The Florida Supreme Court is postponing the execution of convicted killer John Richard Marek.
In a three-paragraph notice Monday, the court scheduled new oral arguments in the case for May 20.
Marek was scheduled to die at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Florida State Prison near Starke.
Monday’s decision comes shortly after Marek lost an appeal at the Florida Supreme Court. Defense attorney Martin McClain had asked the justices to halt Marek’s execution by lethal injection, asserting that an accomplice was the actual killer.
Marek, now 47, was convicted nearly a quarter century ago in the June 16, 1983, kidnapping, rape and murder of Adella Marie Simmons in Broward County.