Lawyers for 'morbidly obese' Florida death row inmate argue his weight could cause botched lethal injection
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A Florida death row inmate, whose appeal based on his “morbidly obese” weight was recently rejected by the Florida Supreme Court, is set to be executed by lethal injection on Tuesday.

Michael Tanzi, 48, is scheduled to be put to death Tuesday night at Florida State Prison in connection to the April 2000 kidnapping and strangling death of Janet Acosta, a production worker at The Miami Herald.

Tanzi allegedly beat, robbed and strangled Acosta before leaving her body in the Florida Keys.

Tanzi was sentenced to death after being convicted of murder in the first degree, carjacking, kidnapping and armed robbery.

A summary by the state Commission on Capital Cases noted Tanzi drove to an isolated area in Cudjoe Key, told Acosta he was going to kill her, and strangled her.

“He stopped to place duct tape over her mouth, nose and eyes in an attempt to quiet her and then strangled her until she expired,” according to the summary.

Aerial scenic Key West Florida photo

Acosta’s van was found by authorities in Key West. (iStock)

Acosta was reported missing by friends and colleagues, leading to the discovery of her van in Key West, according to the report. Tanzi later confessed and led police to Acosta’s body.

“If I had let her go, I was gonna get caught quicker,” Tanzi told officers, according to court documents. “I didn’t want to get caught. I was having too much fun… I told her, I says, ‘I can’t let you go. If I let you go, then I’m gonna be in a lot of trouble.’”

Less than a month ago, a South Carolina man convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend’s parents with a baseball bat in 2001 was executed by firing squad, a method used for the first time in 15 years in the U.S.

Brad Sigmon, 67, chose to die by firing squad, citing fears about lethal injection, Fox News Digital previously reported.

Hours before Sigmon’s death, the U.S. Supreme Court denied an emergency motion to suspend the execution because of South Carolina’s secretive lethal injection policies.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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