A convicted killer who is fighting a possible June execution date that would make him the first person put to death in Nevada in 15 years is calling for the state to consider the firing squad as an option.
Lawyers for Zane Michael Floyd say he does not want to die and are challenging the state plan to use a three-drug lethal injection, which led to court challenges that twice delayed the execution of another convicted killer who later took his own life in prison.
“This is not a delaying tactic,” said Brad Levenson, a federal public defender representing Floyd.
But a challenge of the state execution protocol requires the defence to provide an alternative method, and Mr Levenson said gunshots to the brain stem would be “the most humane way”.
Convicted killer on Nevada s death row fights execution, asks for firing squad as an option
By Ken Ritter
Zane Michael Floyd (Photo: Nevada Department of Corrections)
LAS VEGAS - A convicted killer who is fighting a possible June execution date that would make him the first person put to death in Nevada in 15 years is calling for the state to consider the firing squad as an option, a rare method in the United States.
Attorneys for Zane Michael Floyd say he does not want to die and are challenging the state plan to use a proposed three-drug lethal injection, which led to court challenges that twice delayed the execution of another convicted killer who later took his own life in prison.
Nevada inmate fighting execution seeks firing-squad option
Associated Press 2 hrs ago By KEN RITTER, Associated Press
LAS VEGAS (AP) A convicted killer who is fighting a possible June execution date that would make him the first person put to death in Nevada in 15 years is calling for the state to consider the firing squad as an option, a rare method in the United States.
Attorneys for Zane Michael Floyd say he does not want to die and are challenging the state plan to use a proposed three-drug method, which led to court challenges that twice delayed the execution of another convicted killer who later took his own life in prison.
Floyd s lawyers moves come as the Nevada Legislature considers banning the death penalty, reports CBS Las Vegas affiliate KLAS-TV. A bill doing that passed the Assembly last week and was sent to the state Senate.
Undated file photo from the Nevada Department of Corrections shows Zane Michael Floyd, a death row inmate convicted of killing four people and wounding a fifth in a shotgun attack at a Las Vegas supermarket in 1999. Nevada Department of Corrections via AP, File
Three states - Mississippi, Oklahoma and Utah - and the U.S. military allow capital punishment by gunfire. The last time that method was used in the United States was in Utah in 2010.