Split Sixth Circuit panel stays next scheduled Ohio execution

As I predicted in this recent post after the Ohio Supreme Court refused a stay, this morning the Sixth Circuit has granted a stay of the scheduled October 8 execution date for Ohio death row inmate Lawrence Reynolds.  Not surprisingly, the opinions supporting the stay stress the failed execution attempt in Ohio last month.

The composition of the majority (Judges Cole and Martin) granting the stay in Reynolds v. Strickland, No. 08-4144 (6th Cir. Oct. 5, 2009) (available here), as well as the extended dissent by Judge Sutton, leads me to think that en banc consideration of this matter is a real possibility.  But whether there will be a en banc change of position or subsequent Supreme Court consideration is hard to predict.  Stay tuned.

Some recent related posts on Ohio lethal injection issues:

• Ohio struggling, legally and practically, with effort to execute offender
• Details on the botched Ohio execution attempt, issue spotting, and seeking predictions
• Will (and when and how will) SCOTUS have to weigh in on Ohio's desire to try execution again?
• Federal hearing about constitutionality of Ohio's re-execution attempt pushed back months
• Ohio Supreme Court asked to stay next scheduled execution in wake of botched attempt
• Ohio Supreme Court refuses to block next Ohio execution

UPDATE:  The local AP now has this report on the ruling.  In future coverage, I will be interested to see and here how Ohio's Attorney General and other political players react to a ruling that could be, in effect, the imposition of a de facto moratorium on executions in Ohio in the forseeable future.