WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Connecticut officials asked the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday to lift a court order blocking the execution of Michael Ross, who says he wants to die.
Ross, a graduate of Cornell University, has admitted killing at least eight women and girls, raping some of them, during the 1980s. Six of the victims were killed in Connecticut and two were slain in New York.
A public defender has been fighting Ross's execution, despite the convict's wishes.
A federal judge has issued a stay of the execution to explore whether Ross's decades on death row may have affected his mental competency. Although a federal appeals court upheld the stay, state officials point to hearings that determined Ross was competent.
The state's application for the lifting of the stay automatically goes to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who oversees the 2nd U.S. Circuit, which includes Connecticut.
Ginsburg can act independently or refer the request to the full Supreme Court for a vote behind closed doors.
