 the u.s supreme court granted a stay of execution for a texas man shortly before his planned lethal injection and the killing of an elderly woman decades ago the nation's high court issued the stay about 20 minutes before reuben gutierrez was to have been taken to the huntsville texas death chamber for execution the 47 year old inmate was condemned for the 1998 stabbing of 85 year old escolastica harrison gutierrez said he did not kill the woman and has long sought dna testing