Capital punishment

Arkansas judge halts executions following challenge to secrecy law

An Arkansas judge on Friday halted the upcoming executions of eight death row inmates, dealing a blow to the state's efforts to begin putting prisoners to death for the first time in a decade.

Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Wendell Griffen issued a stay for all eight of the state's scheduled executions, the first two of which were set for Oct. 21. In a separate filing, he denied most of the state's request to dismiss the case and said within a few days he would schedule a hearing in the inmates' ongoing case.

The inmates are challenging a new Arkansas law that allows the state to withhold any information that could publicly identify the manufacturers or sellers of its execution drugs.