Murderer Challenges Death Sentence:  An Ohio man, who masterminded the robbery and murder of a friend, is arguing in the state Supreme Court that he should receive the same sentence as his partner in the crime, rather than a death sentence.  Andrew Welsh-Huggins of the Associated Press reports that attorneys for 22-year-old Austin Meyers say he should not be facing execution while his accomplice, who delivered the fatal knife wounds, got life without the possibility of parole (LWOP).  His attorneys also claim that his youth (19) at the time of the murder should have weighed against a death sentence.  According to prosecutors, there was overwhelming evidence that Meyers planned the murder, tied a garrote around his friend Justin Back's neck, and held him down while co-defendant Tim Mosley finished him off with a knife.  As far as Meyer's age is concerned, the prosecutor noted that he had been an adult for a year when the murder was committed.

Fentanyl For Executions?  The continuing shortage of preferred drugs for the execution of murderers, caused by anti-death penalty advocates, has forced states to look for alternatives.  William Wan and Mark Berman of the Washington Post report that two states, Nevada and Nebraska, are looking at the powerful painkiller fentanyl as an alternative for lethal injections.  While death penalty opponents are claiming that the drug is untested and might cause pain, CJLF Legal Director Kent Scheidegger noted, "If death penalty opponents were really concerned about inmates' pain, they would help reopen the supply."  According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 32 thousand people are overdosing on the drug every year.  It is doubtful that so many addicts would be shooting up fentanyl if it caused pain.  Medical experts report that fentanyl is 50 times more powerful than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine.