Emergency application · Capital case
DNA testing before execution
Daniel O. Conahan, Jr. v. Florida
What did the Court do?
The Court denied the request on September 10, 2026 and refused to halt the execution.
Emergency rulings are temporary and do not decide the underlying case.
What's being asked
Daniel O. Conahan, a Florida death-row prisoner, asks the Court to pause his execution while it considers his request for Supreme Court review. He challenges a Florida Supreme Court decision that rejected his request for DNA testing of evidence from his murder case. Conahan says the testing could support his claim of innocence.
What the Court did
The Court refused emergency help and denied Conahan’s request for a temporary pause of his execution. It also denied review (refused to hear the case). The Court did not publish how the justices voted, and the order gives no explanation.
What it means
The emergency ruling addresses only the request for an immediate pause; it does not decide whether DNA testing should be allowed. The Florida Supreme Court’s ruling remains in place; there is no related merits case, and the docket sets no argument on this application.
Sources
Facts on this page come from the Supreme Court docket, orders, and opinions for No. 26A306. The answers restate that record in plain words; explainer copy is written from the record and the filings only.