Mental ability to face execution

Melvin Trotter, a Florida death-row prisoner, asks the Supreme Court to pause his execution while it considers whether to hear his case. He says Florida might use expired etomidate during lethal injections, risking pain that violates the Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

The Court refused to pause Trotter’s execution, denying his stay request (a request for a temporary pause). It also denied Supreme Court review (refused to hear his case), and the order does not state how other justices voted. Justice Sotomayor said she voted to deny the pause because the evidence was insufficient; the order does not decide the underlying constitutional claim.

This emergency ruling addresses only a request for a temporary pause, not who wins the underlying constitutional dispute. The docket names the Florida Supreme Court but gives no details about further proceedings there. No related case on the main legal question or argument date is listed.

Facts on this page come from the Supreme Court docket, orders, and opinions for No. 25A926. The answers restate that record in plain words; explainer copy is written from the record and the filings only.

• SupremeCourt.gov docket page
• The Court's opinion (PDF)
• SupremeCourt.gov

Checked October 8, 2026