The Georgia pardons board is delaying the execution of a former high school football player who was set to die this week for killing an ex-classmate in 1991.

The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles said Tuesday it would delay Daniel Greene's execution up to 90 days. He was set to die on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the state prison in Jackson.

Board members said in a statement the delay would give them time to examine the claims offered by Greene's attorneys at Tuesday's closed-door pardons hearing. It could be lifted at any time.

The former Taylor County standout was sentenced to death for killing 20-year-old Bernard Walker as he was trying to aid a store clerk who had been robbed and stabbed by Greene.

Tags: execution, Board of Pardons and Paroles, state pardons board