Court fight: Muslim man facing execution wants imam present

ATMORE, Ala. (AP) — A Muslim inmate who complained that the state of Alabama won't let him have an Islamic spiritual adviser beside him when he's executed awaited a U.S. Supreme Court decision on whether the lethal injection would be carried out as planned Thursday evening or put on hold.

Attorneys for Dominique Ray, 42, said Alabama's execution procedure favors Christian inmates because a Christian chaplain employed by the prison typically remains in the execution chamber during a lethal injection.

Ray, as a Muslim, had asked that his imam replace the chaplain in the death chamber, but that request was denied.