Groups lobby board to halt man’s execution

CARSON CITY -- Two groups opposed to capital punishment urged the Nevada Pardons Board on Thursday to halt the scheduled Monday execution of Las Vegas murderer William Castillo, who has refused to file available appeals that would keep him alive.

Nancy Hart of the Nevada Coalition Against the Death Penalty and Richard Siegel of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada said the Pardons Board has the authority to halt Castillo's lethal injection pending a U.S. Supreme Court review of such injections.

Nevada uses the injection method being reviewed by the court, Hart and Siegel wrote, adding that executing Castillo might put the state "in the untenable position of having to explain why it felt compelled to rush an execution before the Supreme Court was able to rule."

"The state of Nevada should not be executing any of its prisoners, 'voluntary' or not, while the U.S. Supreme Court is deciding whether the method violates the Constitution," they wrote.

The issue before the Supreme Court is whether a combination of three drugs used in executions amounts to unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment.

Gov. Jim Gibbons, who leads the Pardons Board, has "no intention to delay or halt the execution," Gibbons spokeswoman Melissa Subbotin said. "At this point, we continue to move forward."

Other members of the Pardons Board include Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto and all seven justices on the state Supreme Court.

Cortez Masto said she wanted to see the letter from Hart and Siegel before commenting. Chief Justice Bill Maupin did not return calls to his office.

Also Thursday, state Corrections Director Howard Skolnik said that Castillo will get double doses of the three drugs normally used in executions. He said that the change ensures that Castillo should "go out instantly" and not experience "any kind of discomfort."

Skolnik also said the double dose makes the Nevada method different than the Kentucky method of lethal injections, which is the subject of the U.S. Supreme Court review.

Prison spokesman Greg Smith said Castillo will be sedated beforehand but not so heavily that it would "interfere with any decision-making ability."

If he decides to file a last-minute appeal, Castillo, 34, could stop the proceedings at any point before the lethal drugs are pumped into him.

A federal public defender will be present should Castillo change his mind about going through with the execution.