1.   Two Taliban soldiers on their backs in the Kunduz bazaar, the dime-sized bullet holes in their foreheads showing the manner of execution hours before.

2.   Why, they will probably even hug and get a little teary-eyed as the clock on the wall ticks closer toward the execution hour.

3.   But a federal judge issued a stay of execution hours after the state Supreme Court had denied a similar request.

4.   Prisoners are held in prolonged solitary confinement for years, then told of their execution just hours before it is to be conducted.

5.   U.S. District Judge Thomas I. Vanaskie issued a temporary stay of execution hours after the state Supreme Court had denied a similar request.

6.   Vigils were held around the state Thursday as the execution hour approached.