STARKE, Fla. (AP) – A federal court is considering a last-ditch appeal from South Florida drug trafficker who was convicted of killing a state trooper with a pipe bomb 21 years ago.
Paul Augustus Howell was set to die by lethal injection Tuesday at Florida State Prison near Starke, but the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. District of Appeal on Monday temporarily blocked the execution until it could hear the merits of his case.
The 47-year-old native of Jamaica was convicted of murdering Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Jimmy Fulford on Feb. 1, 1992 in north Florida.
Authorities said Howell hired a driver to deliver a gift-wrapped microwave oven with the pipe bomb inside to two Marianna women.
Fulford stopped the driver for speeding east of Tallahassee. The package exploded when he tried to open it.
No Comment