CRIME

Arkansas death row inmate asks court to halt execution

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Members of the Arkansas Parole Board hear testimony from the survivors of two murder victims Friday, March 24, 2017, in Little Rock, Ark. Stacey Johnson and Ledell Lee have asked the board to recommend that Gov. Asa Hutchinson grant them mercy and commute their death sentences. Johnson and Lee are set to die April 20 amid a series of four double-executions. (AP Photo/Andrew DeMillo) (The Associated Press)

FILE - This combination of undated file photos provided by the Arkansas Department of Correction shows death-row inmates Stacey E. Johnson, left, and Ledelle Lee. Both men are scheduled for execution on April 20, 2017. (Arkansas Department of Correction via AP) (The Associated Press)

One of eight Arkansas death row inmates facing lethal injection next month is asking the state's highest court to block his execution so evidence from his murder trial can be retested.

Stacey Eugene Johnson asked the state Supreme Court Wednesday to stay his execution scheduled for April 20, one of the four double execution dates the state has set over a 10-day period.

Johnson asked justices to allow him to seek new testing of evidence from his conviction in the 1993 death of Carol Heath. The evidence includes hairs found at Heath's apartment.

The request is among a flurry of filings in state and federal courts by the inmates aimed at halting the multiple executions. The state Parole Board on Monday recommended Gov. Asa Hutchinson reject Johnson's request for clemency.