Death row inmate allowed to ask for firing squad instead of 'painful' lethal injection

Death row inmate allowed to ask for firing squad instead of ‘painful’ lethal injection

A man on death row in the US has won the right to challenge whether he is given a lethal injection.

Michael Nance, 61, would rather die in front of a firing squad – but it is not an approved method of execution in the state of Georgia.

Now, the US Supreme Court has said he can challenge Georgia’s execution protocol under federal civil rights.

Nance, who was sentenced to death in 2002 after being convicted of murder, argued that a lethal injection would cause undue pain and suffering.

According to court documents, his veins are “severely compromised and unsuitable for sustained intravenous access”.

He also claimed there was a risk that the sedative used in lethal injections in Georgia would not render him unconscious because of long-term use of a prescription drug to treat back pain.

Firing squad is used for executions in four states – Mississippi, Oklahoma, Utah and South Carolina, according to the Death Penalty Information Centre.

In addition to lethal injection, there are three other methods: electrocution, lethal gas and hanging.

An injection is the most common one, with 31 states favouring it.

Nance was found guilty of murdering Gabor Balogh, 43, in an attempted carjacking in 1993, shortly after he had robbed a bank.

He does not currently have an execution date.

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