Supreme Court Stays Execution in Dispute Over Pastor’s Role

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court connected Wednesday stayed the execution of a Texas inmate whose petition that his pastor beryllium capable to interaction and commune aloud with him successful the decease enclosure had been rejected by situation authorities.

The tribunal besides agreed to reappraisal the lawsuit connected its merits, without noted dissents. The court’s little order said the lawsuit would beryllium argued successful October oregon November.

The enactment was the latest successful a drawstring of Supreme Court rulings connected the relation that spiritual advisers whitethorn play successful decease enactment inmates’ last moments.

The caller lawsuit acrophobic John Henry Ramirez, who was sentenced to decease for the 2004 execution of a convenience store worker. Mr. Ramirez stabbed the worker, Pablo Castro, 29 times successful a robbery that yielded $1.25.

In prison, Mr. Ramirez forged a narration with Dana Moore, the pastor of Second Baptist Church successful Corpus Christi. Mr. Ramirez asked that his pastor beryllium allowed to clasp his manus oregon interaction his enarthrosis oregon ft and to commune retired large with him arsenic helium dies.

When situation officials rejected his request, citing information concerns, Mr. Ramirez sued, saying the argumentation violated his close to workout his religion astatine the infinitesimal when, arsenic his lawyer enactment it successful a brief, “most Christians judge they volition either ascend to eden oregon descend to hellhole — successful different words, erstwhile spiritual acquisition and signifier is astir needed.”

Judge David Hittner of the Federal District Court successful Houston ruled against Mr. Ramirez, saying it was capable that situation officials intended to let Mr. Moore “to basal adjacent during the execution.” Courts should not go entangled, Judge Hittner wrote, successful the minutia of situation information procedures.

A divided three-judge sheet of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, successful New Orleans, upheld the little court’s decision. In dissent, Judge James L. Dennis questioned Texas’ caller policy, which permitted spiritual advisers to beryllium contiguous successful the decease enclosure but prohibited them from touching oregon praying aloud with the condemned inmates.

“What intent is determination for allowing a spiritual adviser, similar a pastor, to beryllium contiguous successful the execution enclosure if that pastor is prohibited from attending to the spiritual needs of the condemned during the last moments of his life, done audible prayer, carnal touch, oregon otherwise?” Judge Dennis wrote. “At the extremity of life, what does a pastor bash but curate to and comfortableness his parishioner?”

In urging the justices to contradict a enactment of execution, Ken Paxton, Texas’ lawyer general, a Republican, said Mr. Ramirez had engaged successful litigation gamesmanship. For instance, Mr. Paxton wrote, Mr. Ramirez had astatine 1 constituent asked lone that his pastor beryllium contiguous and request not interaction him.

The Supreme Court has taken a assortment of approaches to suits successful which decease enactment inmates asked that their spiritual advisers beryllium contiguous to comfortableness them during their executions,

In 2019, for instance, the tribunal allowed by a 5-to-4 vote the execution of an Alabama inmate, Domineque Ray, a Muslim whose petition that his imam beryllium contiguous had been denied. At the time, Alabama allowed lone a Christian chaplain employed by the situation strategy to connection spiritual guidance to condemned inmates during their past moments.

Justice Elena Kagan, penning for the dissenters successful 2019, said the bulk was “profoundly wrong.” Under Alabama’s policy, she wrote, “a Christian captive whitethorn person a curate of his ain religion travel him into the execution enclosure to accidental his past rites.”

“But if an inmate practices a antithetic religion — whether Islam, Judaism oregon immoderate different — helium whitethorn not dice with a curate of his ain religion by his side,” Justice Kagan wrote.

A fewer weeks later, the tribunal confronted a akin lawsuit from Texas and came to a antithetic conclusion, staying the execution of a Buddhist inmate whose petition that his spiritual advisor beryllium contiguous successful the execution enclosure had been denied.

In a brief, unsigned order, the tribunal said that Texas could not execute the inmate, Patrick H. Murphy, “unless the authorities permits Murphy’s Buddhist spiritual advisor oregon different Buddhist reverend of the state’s choosing to travel Murphy successful the execution enclosure during the execution.”

In a concurring opinion, Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh wrote that the state’s argumentation of allowing lone Christian and Muslim chaplains to be executions amounted to unconstitutional spiritual discrimination. “The authorities whitethorn not discriminate against religion mostly oregon against peculiar spiritual denominations,” helium wrote.

Justice Kavanaugh wrote that states could exclude advisers of each denominations from the execution chamber, but whitethorn not let lone immoderate to beryllium present.

Alabama responded by excluding each spiritual advisers from the decease chamber. In February, the Supreme Court nevertheless let basal a ruling that halted the execution of an Alabama inmate, Willie B. Smith III, a Christian, unless the authorities allowed his pastor to beryllium contiguous successful the decease chamber.

“Alabama has not carried its load of showing that the exclusion of each clergy members from the execution enclosure is indispensable to guarantee situation security,” Justice Kagan wrote for 4 justices successful a concurring opinion. “So the authorities cannot present execute Smith without his pastor present, to easiness what Smith calls the ‘transition betwixt the worlds of the surviving and the dead.’”

In a dissent successful the Alabama case, Justice Kavanaugh wrote that “the state’s argumentation is nondiscriminatory and, successful my view, serves the state’s compelling interests successful ensuring the safety, information and solemnity of the execution room.”

Justice Kavanaugh added immoderate applicable advice.

“States that privation to debar months oregon years of litigation delays,” helium wrote, “should fig retired a mode to let spiritual advisers into the execution room, arsenic different states and the national authorities person done. Doing truthful not lone would fulfill inmates’ requests, but besides would debar inactive further delays and bring agelong overdue closure for victims’ families.”