TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Pointing to his obesity and other medical conditions, lawyers for Death Row inmate Michael Tanzi are trying to halt his scheduled April 8 execution by arguing that using the state’s lethal-injection procedure would violate the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
Tanzi’s lawyers and the state Attorney General’s Office have filed a flurry of documents this week at the Florida Supreme Court, as justices consider whether the execution should proceed.
In a brief filed Monday, Tanzi’s lawyers described him as a “48-year-old morbidly obese” man who suffers from conditions such as sciatica, a nerve condition that affects his back. The brief argued that using the state’s three-drug lethal injection procedure on Tanzi could result in issues such as a sedation drug not fully taking effect and difficulties in placing intravenous lines…