Lawyers for ‘morbidly obese’ Florida death row inmate argue his weight could cause botched lethal injection

Lawyers for a Florida man on death row are seeking to halt his upcoming execution, arguing that his obesity and health conditions could cause his chosen method of lethal injection to go wrong.

Michael Tanzi, 48, is scheduled to be executed April 8 at Florida State Prison for his conviction in the kidnapping and murder of a woman in Miami in 2000. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed his death warrant on March 10, but Tanzi’s lawyers are seeking a stay of execution from the state’s highest court.

Tanzi’s lawyers said in court documents filed last week that their client is morbidly obese and suffers from sciatica, a condition that causes pain along the back’s sciatic nerve.

They argued that Florida’s lethal injection procedure may not work due to Tanzi’s weight, stressing that a sedation drug might not fully take effect and leave him “paralyzed but aware” during the process. His lawyers claimed that executing him would violate the Eighth Amendment, which protects against forms of cruel and unusual punishment.

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“The existing procedures utilize a one size fits none approach that does not allow for modification of dosage,” his lawyers said in the appeal. “There is a significant risk that Mr. Tanzi will be paralyzed but aware when the sodium acetate is injected, creating the sensation of being burned from the inside.”

Tanzi will “likely suffer pulmonary edema, creating a sensation of suffocation and drowning,” his lawyers noted, adding that his obesity, acid reflux and sleep apnea “create a substantial risk that, if sedated while on his back, he will suffer from reflux and aspiration of vomit.”

His obesity will make it impossible for the state to humanely carry out his execution using the existing procedure, his lawyers argued.

“The existing protocols for lethal injection do not contemplate the execution of someone with obesity and uncontrolled medical conditions, like Mr. Tanzi’s, that are likely to complicate the lethal injection process,” Tanzi’s lawyers said. “Executing Mr. Tanzi using the existing protocols is likely to cause serious illness and needless suffering.”

The lawyers also argued that there could be difficulty placing the IV lines that carry the three-drug lethal injection cocktail.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier responded to the appeal by Tanzi’s lawyers by saying they have not shown that the state’s lethal injection protocol would violate protections against cruel and unusual punishment. Uthmeier also noted that Tanzi’s lawyers had plenty of time to raise their concerns but waited until just before the scheduled execution.

“Tanzi fails to offer any support for his groundless assertion that the massive dose of etomidate, that has been repeatedly and successfully used in Florida’s lethal injection protocol, will not work for him,” Uthmeier’s office said.

In Florida, executions must be carried out by lethal injection or electric chair.

Tanzi was convicted of kidnapping Janet Acosta in April 2000, strangling her to death, and leaving her body in the Keys before he continued driving south to visit friends. He was arrested after a missing persons report was filed and he was seen driving Acosta’s vehicle.

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Acosta was seated inside her parked van in April 2000 when Tanzi attacked her and threatened her with a razor blade. He bound and gagged her before he began driving the van toward the Florida Keys. At one point, Tanzi sexually assaulted Acosta and used her bank card to withdraw money from ATMs.

If Tanzi’s execution is carried out as planned, it would be the third in Florida so far this year. James Dennis Ford was put to death last month for the 1997 murder of a couple in Charlotte County and Edward James was executed earlier this month for raping and murdering an 8-year-old girl and killing her grandmother.