by TChris

The execution of Michael Morales has been indefinitely postponed. As TalkLeft noted here, a judge insisted that an anesthesiologist attend the execution to assure that Morales was not subjected to extreme pain when three drugs were administered to end his life. As reported earlier today, the anesthesiologists concluded that it would be unethical to assist California's goal of taking Morales' life against his will. Authorities postponed the execution to this evening, hoping to kill Morales with a lethal dose of a sedative, but the judge required the sedative to be administered by a medical professional, and the state acknowledged that it could not comply with that order.

Because the death warrant expires at midnight, authorites will need to obtain a new one from the trial judge. The judge, however, "joined Morales this month in asking Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for clemency." Even if the judge is willing to sign a new death warrant, it will likely take months to resolve the legal challenges to executing Morales by lethal injection.