• SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- A woman claiming to be a friend of a South Dakota death row inmate asked a federal court Friday to stop his upcoming execution, saying he wasn't psychologically qualified to dismiss his own appeals. But the inmate's attorney said her concerns shouldn't be considered.
• Donald Moeller, 60, was convicted for the 1990 kidnapping, rape and murder of 9-year-old Becky O'Connell. He recently asked a federal judge to dismiss his appeals and let him die. The judge accepted the request, and his execution is set for the week of Oct. 28.
• In her court filing Friday, Donna Nichols said Moeller's wish is colored by his psychological state. She claimed to be a Moeller's friend but offered no details about how she knows the inmate or where she lives. A listed phone number couldn't be found for her in South Dakota, and her Rapid City-based attorney didn't return a phone message.
• Soon after, Moeller's attorney filed a motion saying the inmate wants the execution to proceed.
• A hearing is scheduled for Monday in the request.
• Mark Marshall, Moeller's attorney, said he last met with his client last week and that Moeller reiterated that he wanted to proceed with the execution.
• "The last time I spoke to him he made that clear. I ask him the question every time I speak to him if he wants to continue," Marshall said Friday.
• Nichols claims that Moeller's years of confinement and psychological problems have made him incapable of making voluntary and rational decisions. She also argues that South Dakota's new one-drug lethal injection protocol would inflict cruel and unusual punishment, which is a similar argument made earlier by Moeller's lawyers.
• Attorney General Marty Jackley said his office opposes the stay of execution. He said Nichols lacks standing to bring the court motion.
• Authorities say Moeller kidnapped O'Connell from a Sioux Falls convenience

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