Andriza Mircovich

Andriza Mircovich
Nevada State Prison mug shot
Bornc. 1879
Austria-Hungary
DiedMay 14, 1913(1913-05-14) (aged 33–34)
Nevada State Prison, Carson City, Nevada, U.S.
Cause of deathExecution by shooting machine
Other namesAndrew,[1] Andrigi,[2] Andrija,[3] or Andriji Mirkovich[4]
OccupationMiner[5]
Criminal statusExecuted
Conviction(s)First degree murder (1912)
Criminal penaltyDeath by firing squad

Andriza (or Andrew) Mircovich (Serbian: Андрија Мирковић / Andrija Mirković, c. 1879 – May 14, 1913) was an Austro-Hungarian national of Serb descent. He was the only prisoner ever to be executed by shooting in the US state of Nevada. He had been sentenced to death for the premeditated murder of John Gregovich in Tonopah, Nevada. Mircovich felt that he was owed more money from Gregovich's administration of his late cousin's estate and resorted to settling the matter by stabbing Gregovich to death.[6]

A 1911 statute was passed by the Nevada Legislature that allowed a death row inmate to opt to die by shooting or hanging; that statute was repealed in 1921.[7] Mircovich was insistent on shooting, claiming that hanging often took too long.[8] After the Nevada State Prison warden, George W. Cowing, was unable to find five men to form a firing squad,[4] a shooting machine was requisitioned and built to carry out the execution.[8]

  1. ^ "The Shooting of Murderers" (PDF). The New York Times. June 20, 1912. Retrieved November 9, 2010.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference TheDay-19120812-five was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference LATimes-19130515-kill was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b "No One To Shoot Murderer" (PDF). The New York Times. August 12, 1912. Retrieved November 9, 2010.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference History-Humanities-1989 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Nevada State Prison Inmate Case Files: Andriza Mircovich". Nevada State Library and Archives. Archived from the original on 2010-04-06. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
  7. ^ "Signs Nevada Law for Lethal Execution" (PDF). The New York Times. March 28, 1921. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
  8. ^ a b Cafferata, Patty (June 2010). "Capital Punishment Nevada Style". Nevada Lawyer. State Bar of Nevada. Archived from the original on July 18, 2010. Retrieved November 8, 2010.