Alabama halts execution after Supreme Court ruling allows pastor's presence

Alabama canceled an execution after the Supreme Court issued a late night order requiring the state to allow the condemned man to die with his pastor by his side.

Following the ruling, the state backed off executing Willie Smith, who was scheduled for a Thursday night lethal injection and would have been the first person to be put to death by a state this year. Smith was convicted in 1992 of shooting a woman in the back of the head at a cemetery. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday issued a stay of his sentence, arguing that he must be allowed to have a spiritual adviser present.