Emergency application · Capital case
Repeat petitions on execution fitness
In Re Byron Lewis Black
What did the Court do?
The Court denied the request on August 4, 2025 and refused to halt the execution.
Emergency rulings are temporary and do not decide the underlying case.
What's being asked
Byron Lewis Black, a death-row prisoner, asked the Supreme Court to pause his scheduled execution while it considered his petition for review. He challenges the Sixth Circuit's refusal to return his federal case to the district court. Black argues his claim that he is not competent to be executed should not count as a repeat petition.
What the Court did
The Court refused to pause Black's execution and denied his stay request (a request for a temporary pause). It also denied his petition for certiorari (a request for Supreme Court review), without deciding the underlying dispute. The Court did not publish how the justices voted.
What it means
The Court's refusal of a temporary pause does not decide who ultimately wins the underlying dispute. The record does not describe further proceedings in the Sixth Circuit. It lists no related case about the main legal question and no argument date.
Sources
Facts on this page come from the Supreme Court docket, orders, and opinions for No. 25A137. The answers restate that record in plain words; explainer copy is written from the record and the filings only.