NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Supreme Court has postponed the execution of convicted murderer Billy R. Irick.
The 55-year-old has been on death row since 1986 for the rape and murder of a 7-year-old girl.
He was scheduled to die Jan. 15. But the Supreme Court this week changed the date to Oct. 7, saying there are legal challenges surrounding a drug the state now wants to use for its executions.
Tennessee announced in September that it’s switching from a three-drug lethal injection method to using only the sedative pentobarbital to put an inmate to death.
Irick’s attorney did not immediately return a call to The Associated Press on Thursday.