when i was in high school there was a case (maybe early/mid 70s) of an inmate in washington state who was convicted capitol crimes and sentenced to death. as it was told by our gov't teacher, he was allowed to choose his method of execution, so he chose hanging and the state accepted that request. he then turned around and sued the state saying that hanging would violate his 8th amendment rights against cruel and unusual punishment as he was obese and worried that hanging could possibly snap his head off, causing him great pain and plenty of mental anguish leading up to the execution. the courts agreed with him, and his execution was stayed.
this inmate died a few years ago, and i kept the obit about him, but i have no idea where i've put him and i can't remember the name of the inmate. i think his first name may have been allen. i tried a google search but kept drawing a blank because i really don't know what to type in the search bar.
anyone got any helpful ideas? i'd like to use this case in my classes next year and thought maybe one of the legal eagles here could help. TIA.