Sicko assassin ‘too overweight’ to be executed as legal professionals say it might trigger ‘unnecessary struggling’
Michael Tanzi, 48, who was found guilty of murdering Janet Acosta, 49, in 2003, is set to face the ultimate punishment on April 8 at Florida State Prison
Lawyers for a death row inmate are arguing he shouldn’t face the lethal injection because he’s ‘too obese’.
Michael Tanzi, 48, convicted of the murder of Janet Acosta, 49, in 2003, is scheduled for execution on April 8 at Florida State Prison. His legal team is scrambling to stop him from being the 11th person executed in the US this year.
They lodged an appeal last week, claiming Tanzi’s obesity would render his execution inhumane and lead to “needless suffering”. They contend that the current death penalty protocols, particularly regarding the lethal injection method, are not designed for individuals with obesity-related health issues.
Tanzi’s lawyers highlighted his “severe chronic sciatica […] hyperlipidemia, uncontrolled hypertension, and gastroesophageal reflux disease”.
The appeal document states: “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. Executing Mr. Tanzi using the existing protocols is likely to cause serious illness and needless suffering.”
Janet Acosta was sitting in her parked van in April 2000 when she was attacked and threatened with a razor blade by Tanzi, as per court records. The woman was bound and gagged by Tanzi who then drove her van towards the Florida Keys.
At one point, Tanzi sexually assaulted Acosta and used her bank card to withdraw cash from ATMs..
Tanzi eventually took Acosta to a secluded area of Cudjoe Key, where he strangled her and left her body, officials reported. He then headed to Key West to meet friends.
As Tanzi was travelling through the Keys, Acosta’s pals reported her missing. Police identified the woman’s van and apprehended Tanzi.
Tanzi’s execution would mark the state’s third this year. James Dennis Ford was executed in February for the murder of a couple in Charlotte County in 1997.
Edward James was executed on March 20 for the murder of a woman and the rape and murder of her 8 year old granddaughter in Seminole County in 1993.
2025 has seen a surge of death row executions, and now a second inmate in South Carolina has opted for execution by firing squad, just five weeks after the state conducted its first execution using this contentious method.
Mikal Mahdi, who admitted to murdering a police officer in 2004, is slated for execution on April 11. Mahdi, 41, had the option of dying by firing squad, lethal injection or electrocution.
He’s set to be the first bloke to face execution in the state since Brad Sigmon got the bullet on March 7. A doc declared Sigmon a goner in under three minutes after three rounds blasted his ticker.
“Faced with barbaric and inhumane choices, Mikal Mahdi has chosen the lesser of three evils,” his barrister, David Weiss, stated. “Mikal chose the firing squad instead of being burned and mutilated in the electric chair, or suffering a lingering death on the lethal injection gurney.”
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