11.   His lawyer lost several appeals, but two days before his execution date last fall, Porter was granted a stay because of his limited mental capacity.

12.   In granting the stay, the five majority justices found that Bush would have suffered irreparable harm if the counting had continued.

13.   In its two-page order, the court did not explain the decision to grant a stay.

14.   In the Beazley case, three of the appeals court judges opposed granting the stay.

15.   In the past, the commission has seldom granted stays of such serious penalties.

16.   In the worst-case scenario, state officials could depose the board only to have a court later grant a stay and force everyone to change places.

17.   It is in fact routine for the court to grant a stay, preserving the status quo, in light of an imminent decision.

18.   It takes a majority of the court to grant a stay, and most requests are turned down.

19.   It takes five votes to grant a stay of execution.

20.   Judge John Fletcher, part of the three-judge appeals panel that granted the stay, said court rules prohibited him from commenting.