That closely watched ruling, which made it easier for inmates to get new hearings on DNA evidence that emerges after their trials, and the fallout from it have left House in limbo while a prosecutor methodically battles every effort from the courts to have him retried.

Federal judges have done as the high court ordered: They reviewed his murder case and concluded new evidence raises reasonable doubt about his guilt. Not allowed to overturn the conviction, they took the extraordinary step of giving Tennessee a six-month deadline to bring House to trial or release him.

And still House, 46, is locked up in a Nashville prison.

An appeals court ruled in his favor this month, but that ruling also reset the 180-day countdown at zero.

U.S. District Judge Harry S. Mattice Jr. has scheduled a hearing for Wednesday to consider terms and conditions of House's release, but prosecutors are taking their time in setting a date for a new trial.

"The Supreme Court has said, 'You just got the wrong person.' You would think ... that there would be some respect for that situation," said U.S. Circuit Judge Gilbert S. Merritt, who has heard portions of House's case and believes he isn't guilty of murder.

District Attorney Paul Phillips said he plans to retry House with old evidence from the first trial and some new evidence he wouldn't describe. He promises he has "proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. House is guilty or we would not be re-prosecuting him."

For House's mother, it's hard not to think the state is delaying on purpose.

"What I really think, and I'm not the only one, is they just want him to linger in there until he dies. Then it will all go away, they think," Joyce House said recently at her white ranch-style home in Crossville, a town of about 10,000 some 100 miles east of Nashville.

Phillips denied prosecutors are intentionally putting off the case and noted the inmate's doctor testified House could live for decades with his illness.

"They just don't want to admit they made a mistake," Joyce House said. "They're not the only state that's ever made a mistake."

Federer improved to 16-3 on clay in 2008 by beating Sam Querrey of the United States 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 Monday in the first round of the French Open, where he is trying to become only the sixth man to complete a career Grand Slam.

"I've played well all clay-court season long," said the top-ranked Federer, who is 27-7 overall this year. "Didn't have many hiccups really, and I have plenty of matches. That was my goal as well."

Federer came into the French Open with only one title this year, which he won on clay. His seven losses are more than he had for the entire season in 2004, '05 and '06.

On Tuesday, the start of play was delayed by rain for 2 hours, 50 minutes. Rafael Nadal was scheduled to begin his quest for a fourth straight French Open title against Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil. Nikolay Davydenko, Lleyton Hewitt and 2003 champion Juan Carlos Ferrero were also to play.

Maria Sharapova and Amelie Mauresmo were to play in the women's tournament.

Federer was broken once early in the first set Monday, but he managed to win five times on Querrey's serve.

The justices have no comment on their action, in response to Ryan's claim that he and his fellow defendant, businessman Larry Warner did not receive a fair trial.

Their lawyers argued that the trial judge replaced two jurors with alternates after deliberations in the case had already begun.

Ryan, 74, is serving a 6 1/2 year sentence in federal prison.

The Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals earlier upheld the convictions.

The court ruled Tuesday 6-3 that a U.S. Postal Service employee may pursue her lawsuit under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

The law does specifically bars reprisals against private sector employees who complain about discrimination. But it is silent as to federal workers. Justice Samuel Alito said in the ruling that the law indeed does apply to both categories of employees.

Berry is the second U.S. inmate executed since the Supreme Court upheld Kentucky's lethal injection procedure in April. His appeals were denied by the high court and he was put to death by injection at 6:15 p.m. CDT Wednesday.

Berry confessed that he abducted Mary Bounds in 1987 as she left church choir practice in Houston, Miss., then beat her to death and dumped her body on a rural road.

Courts rejected arguments from Berry's attorneys that he was mentally retarded.

Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps says Berry told him he had no remorse and that "he felt he had served 21 years and that's enough."

The jurors, who took feverish notes during opening statements, sat motionless while the video played. Their eyes fixed on a 4-by-4-foot monitor just outside the jury box. In the courtroom, the lights were dimmed and blinds drawn across windows. There were several other monitors in the room, including one facing the crowded gallery.

A grim, intent Kelly watched the whole video on a small monitor placed on the defense table, only occasionally averting his eyes. At times, the 41-year-old rocked in his chair or rested his chin in his hand.

Before putting the tape into a videocassette player, a prosecutor walked across the stately courtroom, held it out for the defense team to see and entered it into the record as "People's Exhibit No. 1."

The roughly 27-minute homemade video shows a man having sex with a young female, who is naked for most of the recording — except for a necklace with a cross dangling from it.