Judge continues ban on executions in Mo.

ST. LOUIS, July 26 (UPI) -- A federal judge has ruled Missouri must supply a board-certified anesthetist for executions, leaving the death penalty in limbo in the state.

After failing to find any anesthetist willing to participate, state officials submitted a revised procedure to U.S. District Judge Fernando Gaitan Jr. They argued using medical personnel employing standard tests for consciousness met the spirit of Gaitan's earlier ruling, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"Missouri's revised proposal is an improvement over the current procedure," Gaitan said in an opinion handed down Tuesday. "However, there continue to be inadequacies with the personnel required to monitor and oversee the use of the anesthetic."

Missouri's execution protocol, which uses a three-drug mix, induces unconsciousness first, then paralysis, eventually stopping the heart. It was challenged by lawyers for Michael Taylor, who faces execution for killing a 15-year-old girl in Kansas City in 1989.

Similar challenges have been filed in California, Maryland and other states.