Free Republic

His death warrant was signed, and he had already taken an anxiety-calming sedative and said his final goodbyes to his loved ones. But supporters of this Georgia death-row inmate soon became elated after learning that Atlanta’s 11th U.S. Circuit of Appeals Court and the Georgia Court of Appeals both granted temporary reprieves just a half hour before Warren Hill’s state-sponsored murder was slated to begin at 7 p.m. on Feb. 19. In a 2-1 decision, the federal judges decided that more reviews of the doctors’ statements were necessary. Still, Hill faces strict requirements to get his case reconsidered. “If this...

WASHINGTON -- Lawsuits filed Thursday that challenge the federal government's approval of a Shell Oil Co. offshore exploration plan present a major test of regulators' power to swiftly review deep-water drilling blueprints. In two separate but overlapping filings, conservationists argue the government was bound by federal law to first finish a post-spill environmental study of the Gulf of Mexico before approving Shell's plan last month. The legal complaints were filed in the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit Court of Appeals — one by the Defenders of Wildlife, Center for Biological Diversity and the Natural Resources Defense Council and the other by Earthjustice,...