Emergency application · Capital case
Execution stay for innocence claim
In Re Blaine Milam
What did the Court do?
The Court denied the request on September 25, 2025 and refused to halt the execution.
Emergency rulings are temporary and do not decide the underlying case.
What's being asked
Blaine Milam, a prisoner under a death sentence, asked the Supreme Court to pause his execution while it considered his challenge to his conviction. He was convicted of capital murder in the death of his then-fiancée’s 13-month-old daughter. Milam argues he is innocent and that trial evidence, including bite-mark and DNA testimony, was unreliable.
What the Court did
The Court refused to pause Milam’s execution and denied (rejected) his request for a stay (a temporary pause). It also denied (rejected) his habeas petition, a prisoner’s challenge to being locked up; the order gives no reasons. The Court did not publish how the justices voted.
What it means
The emergency stay ruling did not decide whether Milam was innocent, although the Court also denied his habeas petition without explanation. The record identifies no lower court or related case on the main question, and lists no argument date.
Sources
Facts on this page come from the Supreme Court docket, orders, and opinions for No. 25A335. The answers restate that record in plain words; explainer copy is written from the record and the filings only.