Attorneys for death row inmate Michael Tanzi have taken their case to the Florida Supreme Court in a last-ditch effort to stop his execution, scheduled for April 8, after a lower court rejected their arguments last week.
Tanzi, 48, was sentenced to death for the April 2000 murder of Janet Acosta, a Miami woman whom he kidnapped, assaulted, and strangled before dumping her body in a remote part of the Florida Keys. The case has been a fixture in Florida’s capital punishment system for over two decades.
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The appeal to the state’s highest court comes just days after Monroe County Circuit Judge Timothy Koenig issued a 12-page decision denying a motion to block the execution, ruling that Tanzi’s claims—particularly concerning the state’s lethal injection protocol—did not meet the legal standard required for intervention.
Tanzi’s attorneys argued that his medical conditions, including morbid obesity and sciatica, could increase the risk of extreme pain during execution, potentially violating the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.
“The defendant claims that due to his body mass, etomidate, the first drug in Florida’s lethal injection protocol, very likely will not keep Mr. Tanzi in a deep state of sedation for the duration of his execution,” Koenig wrote in his ruling.
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But the judge firmly rejected the claim, noting that Florida courts have consistently upheld the constitutionality of the current execution method, which begins with etomidate as a sedative.
“The defendant has not shown that his alleged obesity and related health effects would cause him needless suffering,” Koenig stated. “The defendant’s claims are speculative and cannot satisfy the ‘sure or very likely’ standard required for relief.”
The ruling cited previous legal precedent supporting the use of Florida’s three-drug protocol and emphasized that existing safeguards are in place to prevent undue pain or suffering.
Tanzi’s execution would mark the third in Florida this year, following the February 13 execution of James Ford, who was convicted in a 1997 double homicide in Charlotte County, and the execution last Thursday of Edward James for the 1993 murders of a Seminole County woman and her 8-year-old granddaughter.
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Governor Ron DeSantis signed Tanzi’s death warrant on March 10, reigniting debate around Florida’s use of capital punishment, particularly amid evolving legal arguments about medical vulnerability and execution protocols.
The Florida Supreme Court has not yet said when it will rule on the appeal, but a decision is expected in the coming days, as the clock ticks down toward Tanzi’s scheduled execution at Florida State Prison.
Tanzi’s legal team has vowed to continue challenging the warrant on constitutional grounds, but with past efforts repeatedly rejected by state and federal courts, the chances of a stay appear slim.
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