BELLEFONTE — Hubert Lester Michael Jr., the condemned Pennsylvania prisoner whose execution was stayed only after the nation's highest court weighed in, can look forward to returning to his home prison where the routine agrees with him — at least until Gov. Tom Corbett signs a new death warrant.

The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling came more than an hour after Michael had been scheduled to receive a lethal injection Thursday night for the murder of a teenage girl. The high court agreed with a federal appeals court ruling earlier in the day that stayed the execution preparations and prevented him from becoming the first person put to death in the state since 1999.

The state Corrections Department responded to the judicial cancellation with strong language.

“If and when the stay is lifted by the court, the execution will be scheduled directly,” said department spokeswoman Sue McNaughton.

Michael, who pleaded guilty to fatally shooting Trista Elizabeth Eng in 1993, had been taken earlier in the day to Rockview State Prison in Bellefonte, home of the state's execution chamber.

Prison officials described the 56-year-old Michael as “very quiet, polite and composed.”

After the Supreme Court decision, one of Michael's lawyers, Helen Marino, said he remained “incredibly remorseful.”