Death sentence upheld by high court

(AP) - The state Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from condemned Nevada inmate Robert Lee McConnell, who came within 34 minutes of being executed in 2005.

Justices dismissed several claims Thursday from McConnell, 37, including one that Nevada's lethal injection method is unconstitutional. The state uses three drugs for executions, including a "downer" that can cause death, another that stops breathing, and a third that stops the heart.

The former Reno car salesman was convicted in Washoe County District Court of murdering Brian Pierce, 25, his ex-girlfriend's fiance, in 2002. He also was convicted of raping the woman at the Sun Valley home she shared with Pierce.

The high court said a lower court properly rejected McConnell's challenge of the lethal three-drug "cocktail," which isn't spelled out in state law and is left to the discretion of the state's prison director.