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Supreme Court Case TrackerThe Court, in plain English

Emergency application · Capital case

Harold Wayne Nichols v. Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General of Tennessee

Denied
No. 25A669Stay applicationFiled by a prisoner facing executionPresented to Justice KavanaughFrom United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

What did the Court do?

The Court denied the request on December 11, 2025 and refused to halt the execution.

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

Filed Ruled 3 days after filing

What's being asked

A prisoner facing execution asks the Supreme Court to halt (stay) an execution. The case is Harold Wayne Nichols v. Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General of Tennessee.

What the Court did

The Court denied the request on December 11, 2025 and refused to halt the execution.

Vote not published · 9the order does not say how they voted
  1. Roberts
  2. Thomas
  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.
Half of 62 rulings on capital applications decided without a response came 2 to 5 days after filing, and the median was 3 days; this one was ruled on 3 days after filing.

What it means

The Court's refusal leaves the execution to go forward as scheduled unless another court or official halts it.

Sources

Facts on this page come from the Supreme Court docket, orders, and opinions for No. 25A669. The answers restate that record in plain words; explainer copy is written from the record and the filings only.

Checked October 3, 2026