Wayne Tompkins gets a temporary stay

All we can hope is the third time is a charm.

Florida Supreme Court Delays Killers' Execution

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A man sentenced to die for strangling a teenager 25 years ago will avoid execution for at least three weeks while his appeal of lethal injection procedures is considered, the Florida Supreme Court ruled Monday.

Wayne Tompkins had been scheduled to die Oct. 28, but the high court issued a stay until Nov. 18.

Tompkins is appealing a March ruling by Circuit Judge Daniel H. Sleet. He rejected claims that the state's lethal injection procedure is unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment because it creates an unnecessary risk of pain.

The state justices and U.S. Supreme Court have since rejected objections to the procedure on behalf of Florida two death row inmates executed earlier this year.

Tompkins, 51, was convicted of murdering Lisa DeCarr, the 15-year-old daughter of his girlfriend, in March 1983 in Tampa.           Source