The Greek Orthodox executioner, Frank Atwood, who was sentenced to death in 1984 for the murder of a girl, will normally be executed. This is the second execution in the state since officials began imposing the death penalty in May after nearly eight years of suspension.
Adwood, who was baptized an Orthodox Christian about two decades ago, is due to be fatally injected Wednesday into state prisons in Florence, Arizona, over the murder of 8-year-old Vicki Hoskinson.
Requesting the postponement of the execution, Adwood's lawyers claimed that the problem that their client has with his spine, would make it unbearably painful to tie him to the chair. They also claimed that the lethal injection that will be given to Atwood has expired. The judges for their part argued that all the necessary measures have been taken so that the detainee does not suffer, while the prosecutor claims that Atwood is trying to avoid execution by using legal tricks.
The detainee's lawyer stated that the execution by lethal injection "would cause unbearable pain to his client, even before it was given".
Authorities say Adwood abducted Hoskinson, whose body was found in a deserted area northwest of Tucson, almost seven months after her disappearance. Medical examiners were unable to determine the cause of death during the laboratory examination, according to court records.
Adwood has pleaded not guilty to this day.
Last month, Adwood refused to choose between a lethal injection and a gas chamber, and so, under state law, he will submit to the former.
Although he did not choose the gas chamber, Adwood tried to take legal action against the gas executions carried out by the state of Arizona.
His lawyers said their client had the right to choose between legal methods of execution and suggested the state change the hydrocyanic acid to nitrogen because nitrogen would cause "painless death". Arizona prosecutors say nitrogen executions have not been adequately tested.
According to Adwood's lawyers, the use of hydrocyanic acid - which was used by the Nazis to exterminate Jews at Auschwitz - is unconstitutional and creates unbearable levels of pain during execution.