Attorneys for condemned inmate Earl Wesley Berry have asked a federal appeals court to stop Berry's scheduled May 21 execution. Berry was sentenced to death for the 1987 beating death of Mary Bounds.

Berry has also asked Gov. Haley Barbour for clemency, which the governor would not be expected to grant. Just before Berry's execution in 2007 was stopped, Barbour refused a clemency request.

Berry's attorney, Jim Craig of Jackson Thursday asked the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to stop the execution on grounds Berry is mentally retarded and cannot be executed.

The state was expected to file a response Friday to Berry's motion. The Mississippi Supreme Court has declined to hear any more appeals from Berry.