Associated Press
January 7, 2003

The United States Supreme Court Tuesday rejected condemned inmate Ronald Chris Foster's request to review his case. The justices gave no reason for their refusal to hear Foster's appeal.

Monday, Gov. Ronnie Musgrove issued a temporary reprieve to Foster.

The 30-year-old Foster was scheduled to be executed Wednesday for the 1989 Lowndes County killing of convenience store clerk George Shelton.

Musgrove said the reprieve would last until the constitutional questions about Foster's age at the time of the crime and his mental ability are addressed by the United States Supreme Court and the Mississippi Supreme Court.

Musgrove denied clemency in two executions last year. He says Foster's case is different because of the age and mental retardation issues being raised by the inmate's attorneys.