High Court Lets Alabama Execute Muslim Without Imam in Chamber

A divided U.S. Supreme Court reinstated Alabama’s planned execution Thursday of a Muslim man who sought to have his imam in the death chamber with him.

The high court lifted a day-old federal appeals court order that had blocked the execution. The lower court said Alabama appeared to be violating Domineque Ray’s religious rights.

Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan voted to halt the execution while the legal fight went forward.

The only cleric Alabama allows in the chamber is the prison’s Christian chaplain, a government employee trained as a member of the execution team. ...