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Emergency application · Capital case

David Wood v. Rachel Patton, Assistant Attorney General

Granted
No. 24A860Stay applicationFiled by a prisoner facing executionPresented to Justice AlitoFrom United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

What did the Court do?

The Court granted the request on March 14, 2025 and halted (stayed) the execution.

Emergency rulings are temporary and do not decide the underlying case.

Filed Ruled 5 days after filing

What's being asked

A prisoner facing execution asks the Supreme Court to halt (stay) an execution. The case is David Wood v. Rachel Patton, Assistant Attorney General.

What the Court did

Order issued by Justice Alito: Upon consideration of the application of counsel for the applicant, and the response filed thereto, it is ordered that in light of the stay of execution granted by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on March 11, 2025 (case No. WR-45,746-04), the application for stay of execution of sentence of death presented to Justice Alito is denied as moot.

Vote not published · 9the order does not say how they voted
  1. Thomas
  2. Roberts
  3. Alito
  4. Sotomayor
  5. Kagan
  6. Gorsuch
  7. Kavanaugh
  8. Barrett
  9. Jackson
The order does not say how any justice voted, as is usual on the emergency docket.
Days from filing to a ruling for 26 rulings on capital applications decided without a response since January 1, 2025. The band is the middle half, the tick the median, and the mark this application: ruled 5 days after filing.

What it means

The execution cannot go forward while the stay is in place.

Sources

Facts on this page come from the Supreme Court docket, orders, and opinions for No. 24A860. The answers restate that record in plain words; explainer copy is written from the record and the filings only.

Checked September 24, 2026