Del. Set to Execute Ax Murderer Friday

Delaware prepares for its 1st execution since 2005

The First State is preparing to execute their first inmate in about six years.

A federal appeals court is hearing arguments on whether to halt the execution of a man convicted of an ax murder.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has a set a telephone conference for 5 p.m. Thursday, just hours before the scheduled execution of Robert Jackson III.

Jackson was convicted of killing Hockessin resident Elizabeth Girardi in 1992 during a botched burglary. He lost two appeals on Wednesday before a federal judge and the Delaware Supreme Court and is scheduled to die by lethal injection early Friday.

Jackson's attorneys are challenging the use of a particular drug they say causes an unnecessary risk of pain and suffering.


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