As an Alabama killer's impending execution looms, he's made peace with his fate – barring one final request: no autopsy after he's put to death.
In a lawsuit filed last month citing 64-year-old Keith Edmund Gavin's Muslim faith, lawyers for the death row inmate argued his religion "teaches that the human body is a sacred temple, which must be kept whole. As a result, Mr. Gavin sincerely believes that an autopsy would desecrate his body and violate the sanctity of keeping his human body intact. Based on his faith, Mr. Gavin is fiercely opposed to an autopsy being performed on his body after his execution," according to AL.com.
Gavin's lawyers filed the suit in Montgomery Circuit Court after they alleged they were unable "to reach a resolution regarding the handling of his remains" with state officials.
He "does not anticipate any further appeals or requests for stays of his execution" and the lawsuit is not an attempt to spare his life, court documents state, the outlet reported. "After Mr. Gavin's execution, there will be no question as to who or what caused Mr. Gavin's death. The State will execute him by lethal injection."
The Alabama Attorney General's Office said it's "working towards a resolution" for Gavin's request.
Gavin is scheduled to die by lethal injection July 18 for the 1998 fatal shooting of William Clayton Jr., a delivery driver who stopped at an ATM to pull out money in Cherokee County, Alabama, while on his way home to his wife, the Associated Press and the Alabama Reflector reported.
At the time of the killing, Gavin was granted parole a few months prior after serving 17 years for a separate murder charge in Illinois.
