BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A federal judge's order bars Louisiana from carrying out any death sentences for at least one more year.

  

At the request of state authorities, U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick agreed Monday to order a 12-month extension in an order temporarily staying all executions in Louisiana.

  

A lawsuit challenging the state's lethal injection protocols has blocked Louisiana from carrying out any death sentences since 2014. Its last execution was in 2010.

  

In a court filing last Wednesday, an attorney for the state said litigating the case now would be "a waste of resources and time."

  

Drug shortages have forced Louisiana's corrections department to rewrite its execution plan several times since 2010.

  

Dick's order suspends the litigation through at least July 18, 2019.