U.S. Supreme Court Blocks Execution of Buddhist Without Spiritual Adviser
- Texas must let Buddhist adviser be present in death chamber
- Kavanaugh says state was engaging in religous discrimination
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The U.S. Supreme Court halted the scheduled execution of a Buddhist man in Texas who said the state was violating his religious rights by barring him from having his spiritual adviser in the death chamber.
The justices granted Patrick Henry Murphy’s bid to block to his lethal injection unless the state allows a Buddhist spiritual adviser to be with him. Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch said they would have permitted the execution, which had been scheduled for Thursday.