A Nevada man sentenced to death tells court he’d rather die by firing squad than lethal injection
But Nevada no longer uses firing squads for executions.
Attorneys for Floyd claim the protocol “presents a wholly unnecessary, substantial risk of serious harm” when used in a lethal injection.
Because the combination of drugs is “novel” and could cause Floyd pain while he dies, his attorneys wrote in their filing, the execution would constitute “cruel and unusual punishment.”
State law requires Floyd to provide an alternative method of execution, according to his complaint, so he suggested a firing squad.
But Nevada requires that all executions be carried out through lethal injections. Firing squads are not authorized, said Nevada Department of Corrections deputy public information officer Teri Vance.
Brad Levenson, an assistant federal public defender who represents Floyd, told CNN that the filing was not an attempt to delay Floyd’s execution.
The settlement left the state with no “current means of carrying out an execution,” according to the ABA.
It is unclear why Nevada intends to use this particular combination of drugs and the Nevada Attorney General’s Office declined to comment to CNN about the state’s ability to carry out executions, referring CNN to the Nevada Department of Corrections. The Nevada Department of Corrections declined to comment on the July 2020 report, as well.
Sentenced to death for a mass shooting
On the same day as the shooting, Floyd sexually assaulted a woman at his apartment, according to the opinion. In addition to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder, Floyd was convicted of kidnapping using a deadly weapon and four counts of sexual assault with the use of a deadly weapon.
Floyd unsuccessfully appealed the decision at least twice after his conviction, Nevada court records show.
Nevada death row inmates haven’t died by firing squad in decades
Dozier eventually died by suicide in his cell in 2019 after the delays in his execution.
