Overview
- The state’s high court denied prosecutors’ bid to lift a stay of execution, leaving James Duckett’s death warrant paused.
- Judges first halted the execution to allow new DNA testing of semen on the victim’s clothing, and results filed Friday were reported as inconclusive.
- Prosecutors argued the finding did not clear Duckett and asked to proceed, but six of seven justices voted to keep the stay in place.
- The court directed the lower court to review new claims tied to the DNA evidence and required status updates by Thursday, April 2.
- Duckett, a former Mascotte police officer convicted in the 1987 killing of 11-year-old Teresa McAbee, has long challenged evidence from the era, including hair comparisons that experts now view as unreliable.