The U.S. Supreme Court ordered a stay of execution for Alabama Death Row Inmate Vernon Madison earlier this evening, according to the Alabama Department of Corrections.

Public Information Officer Bob Horton said the court granted the stay pending the disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari. A writ of certiorari is a type of writ, meant for rare use, by which an appellate court decides to review a case at its discretion, according to the Legal Information Institute of Cornell Law School.

Earlier tonight, the Supreme Court issued a temporary stay of execution, according to the ADOC.

Madison’s lawyers said his dementia prevented him from remembering the murder he was convicted of committing decades ago, according to a report on CNN.com.

Madison is on death row at William C. Holman Correctional Facility, which is just outside of Atmore, because he was convicted for the shooting of Mobile Police Cpl. Julius Schulte, who was responding to a domestic disturbance call in April 1985, according to reports.