Manuel Valle receives 2nd execution stay

CORAL GABLES, Fla., Sept. 3 (UPI) -- A convicted killer sentenced to die for the 1978 shooting of a Coral Gables, Fla., police officer has received a temporary stay of execution, officials say.

Manuel Valle's execution, originally set for 6 p.m. Tuesday, was delayed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Atlanta until at least 7 p.m. Thursday, The Miami Herald reported Friday.

Valle's lawyers were ordered by the appeals court to submit written arguments regarding claims Valle was denied a clemency hearing.

Valle's lawyers previously filed documents saying the state began a clemency proceeding in 1992, but never followed through with an investigation of the case or assigned Valle a clemency lawyer.

"We are confident that we will ultimately prevail in upholding the death penalty for Valle and holding him responsible for the death of Officer Louis Pena," said a spokeswoman for Attorney General Pam Bondi.

This is the second execution stay granted to Valle, sentenced to death for the 1978 shooting and killing of Coral Gables Police officer Louis Pena. The Florida Supreme Court initially delayed his execution after Valle claimed the new use of the drug pentobarbital in Florida's lethal injections could be considered cruel and unusual punishment.