Story perspectives

Supreme Court Clears Texas 600th Execution, Overrules Disability Stay

5/15/2026

Summary

Story summary

Supreme Court cleared Texas’s 600th execution since 1976, scheduling Edward Busby for lethal injection on May 14, 2026.
The Court overruled a 5th Circuit stay that had paused the execution over Busby’s alleged intellectual disability.
Liberal Justices Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor dissented, with Jackson criticizing the rush.
Texas Attorney General’s Office called the disability claim meritless and time-barred; the trial judge upheld the death sentence in 2023.

1 of 1

Story summary

Supreme Court cleared Texas’s 600th execution since 1976, scheduling Edward Busby for lethal injection on May 14, 2026.
The Court overruled a 5th Circuit stay that had paused the execution over Busby’s alleged intellectual disability.
Liberal Justices Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor dissented, with Jackson criticizing the rush.
Texas Attorney General’s Office called the disability claim meritless and time-barred; the trial judge upheld the death sentence in 2023.