Bishop's fate unknown after Supreme Court conference

Bishop's fate unknown after Supreme Court conference


Dale Leo Bishop, condemned to death in 2002 for a Saltillo murder- kidnapping, may learn Monday if he has a chance to live a little longer than the state of Mississippi wants.

Thursday, justices of the U.S. Supreme Court held a conference about his appeal to them, which claims a variety of problems at trial should result in a new hearing for him.

Whether the justices accepted or rejected his plea wasn't known yet. If they did anything with his request, they are likely to announce it Monday, which is their routine after Thursday conferences, if they don't announce immediately.

Additional information wasn't available and Bishop's appeals attorney did not respond to a phone call.

A Lee County jury convicted Bishop of capital murder and kidnapping in 2002. He is widely considered the next Mississippi inmate in line to be executed since the Supreme Court effectively lifted a lethal injections stay imposed while it considered a Kentucky case last fall.

The 1st was Chickasaw Countian Earl Wesley Berry, who was executed last month.

If Bishop's appeals are rejected, he could be executed later this summer. The Attorney General's Office has said his arguments are not valid.

Bishop also is 1 of 4 Mississippi death-row inmates urging the U.S. District Court of Northern Mississippi to disallow their executions because of the inhumanity of the state's lethal injection process.

(source: The Daily Journal)