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Calif. Calls Off Execution After Court Setbacks

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California officials on Wednesday called off the scheduled execution of a convicted murder after setbacks in federal and state courts.

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The attorney general's office said in a court filing that it can no longer to proceed with the lethal injection of Albert Greenwood Brown at 9 p.m. Thursday.

It would've been California's first since 2006.

The announcement came a day after a federal judge blocked the execution, saying he needed more time to evaluate the state's newly adopted lethal injection procedures.

The state tried to appeal that decision. But after another unfavorable ruling by the California Supreme Court, it conceded the execution can't happen as planned.

The soonest officials could execute Brown would be Friday. But by then, the state's entire supply of a drug used during lethal injections would have expired.

"I'm relieved," said John Grele, one of Brown's attorneys. "This was a hastily designed plan."

The attorney general's office notified the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that it was unable to execute Brown.

(© Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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