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violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment, but there are few details about those issues as many of the recent filings have been kept under seal.
• Piersol told Moeller that the attorneys allege there's a high probability that solely using pentobarbital in the execution could cause him pain, and asked if Moeller still wanted to dismiss the appeal.
• "Yes, I do," he responded.
• Authorities say Moeller kidnapped O'Connell from a Sioux Falls convenience store, drove her to a secluded area near the Big Sioux River, and then raped and killed her. Her naked body was found the next day; she had been stabbed and her throat was slashed.
• Just before the hearing Thursday, Little Rock, Ark.-based attorney Scott Braden filed a motion asking Piersol to appoint a guardian for Moeller, saying he's incompetent and incapable of making voluntary and rational decisions. An affidavit from a psychology professor said Moeller's abusive upbringing and time in solitary confinement have undermined his will to live.
• Moeller disputed the assessment of his mental state.
• "Judge, I know what's happening. I am competent, and I don't want this dragging through the courts anymore," he said.
• Braden said Moeller has not been informed properly about South Dakota's execution protocol, mistakenly telling the attorney he thought the state was going to use propofol, the "drug that killed Michael Jackson."
• Moeller said he might have misspoken but knows what lies ahead.
• "They're going to put poison in my veins and they're going to kill me," he said.
• "I've OD'd before. I'm not scared."
• Attorney Mark Marshall, who was appointed to represent Moeller in his state court case, said Moeller has wanted to drop the federal challenge for months and the Arkansas attorneys have refused.
• Marshall told the judge that Moeller has dismissed the case and no ruling is required, but Piersol told him that he can ask questions before deciding whether to accept that dismissal.
• Moeller initially was convicted in 1992, but the state Supreme Court overturned it, ruling that improper evidence was used at trial. He was again convicted and sentenced to die in 1997.
• Piersol has upheld the constitutionality of Moeller's conviction and sentence, but hasn't ruled on South Dakota's execution protocol. Piersol told the attorneys Thursday that the case is not about whether Moeller will be executed, but how -- and possibly when -- the punishment will be carried out.

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