US judge in Nevada hears testimony on firing squad execution

By KEN RITTER
Associated Press

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A physician testifying as an expert in a condemned Nevada inmate’s bid not to be put to death told a federal judge Thursday that execution by firing squad would be quick and “relatively painless.” However, Nevada law doesn’t allow inmates to be shot and the method isn’t being considered in Zane Michael Floyd’s case. Still, Floyd’s attorneys have to offer an alternate method while they ask U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware II to find the state’s lethal injection plan unconstitutional. They argue the procedure drawn up by state prison officials and its never-before-used combination of drugs would produce an agonizing death. Hearings resume in mid-December.