NATION : ‘Black Widow’ Execution Stayed
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STARKE, Fla. — Judi Buenoano, known as “the black widow” for killing the men closest to her, was granted a 24-hour reprieve today a few hours before she was to have been executed in the electric chair.
A federal judge in Orlando issued the 24-hour stay shortly after 8 a.m. Buenoano had been scheduled to die at 12:01 p.m.
Buenoano’s lawyers had claimed a malfunctioning electric chair could subject her to cruel and unusual punishment. The Florida Supreme Court rejected the claim .
If executed, Buenoano would be the second woman executed in the United States since the Supreme Court lifted its ban on capital punishment in 1976. She also would be the first woman executed in Florida.
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