COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio Supreme Court on Thursday put mass murderer Anthony Sowell's death sentence on hold indefinitely while he continues to appeal his case.

The court in December upheld Sowell's aggravated murder convictions and death sentence for killing 11 women and burying their bodies at his Imperial Avenue home in Cleveland.

The Supreme Court's decision to grant the stay is not unusual for a death penalty case.

While the court's ruling in December affirmed Sowell's conviction, his lawyers still are petitioning for sentence relief from Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. Sowell also has appeal options through the federal court system that, if successful, could overturn his conviction.

Those appeals could take years to work their way through the courts.

In it's ruling Dec. 8, the court ordered Sowell's execution could proceed Dec. 18, 2020. Sowell's lawyers filed their motion to stay that execution four days later.

You can read that motion below. Mobile users click here.

Complete index of previous coverage of the Anthony Sowell case.

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