Stay of execution request

Georgia’s first execution in nearly two years could be put on hold. Today the state Supreme Court considered John Hightower’s request for a stay. The 63-year-old is scheduled to have a lethal injection next Tuesday. Hightower was convicted of killing his wife and two stepdaughters in 1987. The court has not made a decision on Hightower’s request.

Death sentence upheld

The Supreme Court today let stand a death sentence for a Georgia death row inmate. John W. Hightower of Milledgeville was convicted in 1998 of killing his wife and two stepdaughters. Hightower, who is black, claimed that prosecutors improperly struck blacks from the jury.