The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled 5-4 in favor of a mentally ill murderer who does not understand the reason for his execution.

NPR: High Court Blocks Mentally Ill Inmate's Execution

By 10 a.m. on this summer day, without any orders called in for his execution, Lavender passes the time with a crossword puzzle.

FORBES: Companies, People, Ideas

But the Pakistani government, not known for its leniency, had stayed his execution.

NEWYORKER: The Black Sites

The four men facing execution for being part of his gang - named as Gnanaprakash, Simon, "Meesai" Madaian and Pilavendran - are held at Belgaum prison in Karnataka.

BBC: Veerappan gang on death row: India court delays hangings

The four men facing execution for being part of his gang - named as Gnanaprakash, Simon, "Meesai" Madaian and Pilavendran - are currently housed at Belgaum prison in Karnataka.

BBC: Veerappan seen in this undated file photo.

One of them, 33-year-old Jose Medellin, is scheduled for execution in less than three weeks for his part in the gang rape and murder of two teenage girls in 1993.

BBC: Court seeks to stay US executions

Andrew Young QC, for the Duke of Buccleuch, called it "a rather bizarre attempt" to fix a contract on the duke for something an undercover officer did in the execution of his normal investigatory role.

BBC: Marshall Ronald

Richard Burr, a death penalty specialist who helped defend McVeigh and is a consultant for his legal team, told CNN Friday a stay would not require a court order because the execution was not court-ordered.

CNN: U.S. postpones McVeigh execution until June 11

President Mahinda Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka, who had made personal appeals for clemency in Nafeek's case, said he and his government deplored the decision to go ahead with the execution.

CNN: Outrage over beheading of Sri Lankan woman by Saudi Arabia