Daryl Mack Convicted of killing Betty Jane May in Reno boarding room in 1988

CARSON CITY -- Unless he changes his mind and resurrects his appeal in his Reno murder conviction, 47-year-old Daryl Mack will on Wednesday become the 12th inmate to be executed in Nevada since the state reinstated capital punishment in 1977.

After a last meal of his choosing, Mack will be escorted in chains from a "last night" cell across a hallway into the execution chamber at the Nevada State Prison, a former gas chamber converted for use for lethal injection. He will be strapped to a gurney, and an intravenous needle will be inserted into his arm.

From behind a one-way mirror, three drugs, the first a sedative to knock him out, the others to stop his lungs and heart, will be administered by an anonymous prison official. Official witnesses will observe the process through a glass window.

If he goes forward, Mack will be the 11th "volunteer," an inmate who proceeds with his execution by giving up his right to appeal.

But Mack, who converted to Islam while in prison, will be the first black man on death row to be executed since the return of the death penalty. The previous 11 executions have been of white, Asian or Hispanic men.

Mack told psychiatric evaluators that he reads the Quran and prays five times daily as required of the religion.

Mack was convicted of killing Betty Jane May in a Reno boarding room in 1988.

Mack was serving a life sentence for the 1994 murder of Kim Parks in a Reno motel when he was linked through DNA evidence to the May killing. He waived his right to a jury trial and was convicted of the crime in 2002. A three-judge panel sentenced him to death.

Mack denies killing May but has said repeatedly he wants to be executed rather than spend the next 20 years of his life on death row at Ely State Prison while pursing an appeal of his conviction and sentence.

In an interview in 2005 with one of three psychiatrists seeking to determine his competency, Mack said: "It doesn't matter so much because I base my decision elsewhere. I don't want to grow old in prison. I don't have a choice but to be in here and wait. My decision is based on limited options. Stay in here or not; 25 to 30 years I wait, or (I) die and I don't have to wait anymore."

Department of Corrections Director Glen Whorton said the execution is expected to proceed. Mack has not changed his mind, he said.

The use of lethal injection has been called into question in some cases around the country as being cruel or unusual punishment in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

It was raised in a failed effort by Mack's 86-year-old mother, Viola, to gain status as a "next friend," court language for giving her authority to appeal his case on his behalf.

Assistant federal Public Defender Michael Pescetta cited numerous instances, including two in Nevada, where the use of lethal injection was flawed, in support of Viola Mack's effort. One involved the 1998 execution of Roderick Abeyta, where Pescetta said it took 25 minutes to find a vein to insert the intravenous needle. The second involved the execution of Sebastian Bridges in 2001, when Pescetta said, "he died while apparently still conscious and while shouting about the injustice of his execution."

Pescetta said the administration of a lethal injection cannot be performed by a competent physician because the ethical standards of the American Medical Association prohibit participation in executions except to certify that death has occurred.

A recent execution in California could not go forward when a physician could not be found to participate in the process. And the U.S. Supreme Court agreed in January to look at a Florida case involving the process. The court said it would consider the claim of inmate Clarence Hill that his civil rights would be violated because the chemicals used to execute him would cause excessive pain.

When the Nevada Supreme Court agreed to hear Viola Mack's petition in November, Pescetta called Mack, "the latest in a parade of mentally ill men who seek to make the state of Nevada end their lives for them."

But the state high court in February rejected her effort to take control of her son's legal matters, allowing the execution to go forward.

Washoe County District Attorney Dick Gammick said he believes Mack will not change his mind at the last minute to halt the execution.

He also said that the punishment is justified and that Mack wants to be executed.

"He committed two murders," Gammick said. "Let's get it done and get on with it."

According to the psychiatric interviews, Mack was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Oakland, Calif., and Reno. His parents divorced when he was 7.

At 15 he started using marijuana and had frequent run-ins with the law, being convicted of robbery and other crimes. Before being sent to prison for the Parks killing, he was a drug dealer.

Mack said he has no personal contact with his family, including a brother. His mother sends money and calls on the phone. But other than his lawyer, Mack has no personal contact with anyone outside of prison.

According to state Archivist Guy Rocha's outline of capital punishment in Nevada, 53 men have been executed at the state prison in the capital: 10 hanged, one shot, 32 by lethal gas and 10 by lethal injection.