Supreme court denies Thompson’s stay of execution

NASHVILLE, Tenn. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ? The state Supreme Court denied a motion for a stay of execution for a death row inmate who already has lost a series of appeals in federal courts.

In an order released Tuesday, the court found that Gregory Thompson, convicted of murder in 1985, has not shown a substantial change in his mental health that would restrict the state from execution.

Attorneys for Thompson filed a motion seeking a stay in September after the federal Supreme Court ruled in July that a lower court improperly reopened Thompson’s case. The ruling allowed the state to set a new execution date of Feb. 7, 2006.

The stay of execution motion claimed that there had been a change in Thompson’s mental health since the last time he appeared before court.

The state court also denied two other motions to keep his medical records private and protect them from inspection by the state attorney general.

Thompson was convicted of killing Brenda Blanton Lane, a 28-year-old former newspaper reporter, with a rusty knife after abducting her from a Shelbyville Wal-Mart parking lot.

Justice Adolpho A. Birch Jr. dissented in the 4-1 ruling.