JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A condemned Florida man scheduled to be executed Thursday remained on Death Row after the U.S. Supreme court ordered a postponement.

The high court intervened just hours before Mark Schwab would have been put to death for murdering 11-year-old Junny Rios-Martinez.

Police said Schwab kidnapped, raped and strangled Junny in 1991.

The blocked execution prompted Junny's family to speak out about their wait for justice.

"I would be lying to you if I told you I wasn't disappointed ... we are," said Junny Rios-Martinez Sr.

Surrounded by family and friends, the Rios-Martinez clan said it refuses to be defeated by a justice system that has given Schwab something their son was never afforded -- more time to live.

"They may think it's cruel and unjust to him, but what they did to us today is just as cruel and unjust," said Junny's mother, Vickie Rios-Martinez.

The U.S. Supreme Court granted Schwab a stay of execution as the justices consider appeals that claim lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment for Death Row inmates.

The decision came just four hours before Schwab was to die at the state prison in Starke, Fla.

So much of Thursday was about Schwab, Junny's family urged everyone to focus on the real victim -- Junny.

The family said what happened to their loved one 16 years ago is sickening.

Junny won a kite flying in March 1991contest and his picture appeared in an Orlando newspaper and Schwab saw the boy's picture and that was how the convicted sex offender found his victim.

Schwab befriended Junny's parents by claiming he was a newspaper reporter writing an article about the kite contest. Weeks later, Schwab called Junny's school and lied to staff, saying he was the boy's father and he should met him after school.

Junny was raped and murdered. His body found in a Brevard county footlocker.

The boy was one of seven children. His family has endured unimaginable pain.

Junny's family said they survived Thursday's ruling because of their love for their lost son.

"He murdered our son but he did not murder his spirit, and he still lives in each one of my grandchildren and my children, and that is our strength," said Junny's father.

Junny's parents said they have proof their son's spirit is with them: one of their grandchildren was born on Junny's birthday, another one was born on the day Junny died and Junny's sister birthday was the day Junny's killer was supposed to be executed.