Death row inmate renews lethal debate

Nevada murderer wants to die, but a new injection cocktail poses moral argument.

LAS VEGAS — Defense attorney David Anthony faced a dilemma Monday as he argued that his client shouldn’t be put to death with a new, untested lethal injection cocktail: As long as his client professes an unequivocal desire to die, saving him might prove difficult, if not impossible.

And time is running short, with Scott Dozier facing execution on Nov. 14. Anthony can’t ask for a stay of execution if Dozier doesn’t want it — and Dozier has said he doesn’t want one.

“These issues pose a moral dilemma,” the lawyer said outside a Las Vegas courtroom where he argued for a delay of the execution.

Anthony said there also remained concerns about the use of a paralytic drug during the lethal injection. Testimony by an expert on Friday suggested it could lead to pain and suffering for Dozier.

And Anthony argued that it was especially risky since it would be administered by out-of-practice prison personnel, under a new chief medical officer.

Dr. John DiMuro, an anesthesiologist who stepped down from his post as Nevada’s chief medical officer about a week ago, was replaced by a psychiatrist, according to Assistant Solicitor General Jordan Smith.

That change had led to uncertainty in a state that doesn’t carry out executions with regularity. The last execution in Nevada was in 2006.

Anthony argued that a psychiatrist simply didn’t have the same experience for overseeing the protocols for drug-based executions.

Smith argued there would be an attending physician who oversaw Dozier’s execution and that there would be trained medical personnel present as well.

The paralytic drug cisatracurium is at the center of the controversy. According to the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, the state would be the first to use it during an execution with fentanyl and diazepam.

There are fears that cisatracurium would simply act as a mask — paralyzing Dozier while his body was in pain and he experienced “air hunger” — the phenomenon of not being able to breathe.

“It’s not a shame for anyone here if we need to push the pause button,” Anthony said. “If it’s the right thing to do, it’s the right thing to do.”

The 46-year-old death row inmate was convicted in 2007 of murdering and dismembering 22-year-old Jeremiah Miller five years prior at a Las Vegas motel.

He also was convicted in Arizona 12 years ago for the murder of 26-year-old Jasen Green.