An Arkansas judge issued a temporary restraining order Friday, stopping the state from executing seven men it had planned to put to death this month.
The state was prepared to execute the men over 11 days starting Monday, a decision that drew strong criticism from opponents of capital punishment who said it was cruel and unusual punishment and increased the likelihood of a botched execution.
No state has executed that many people in such a short time.
Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen issued the restraining order preventing Arkansas from using its supply of vecuronium bromide, a drug used in the state's lethal injection mixture.
