SANDPOINT — Defense counsel for a Washington state man accused of murder is moving to have the death penalty taken off the table.

Hailey attorney R. Keith Roark argues Idaho’s death penalty protocol violates Jacob Corban Coleman’s constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment, according to documents filed in 1st District Court on Thursday.

“Lethal injection, as performed in Idaho, risks the infliction of pain and suffering,” Roark said in a motion to strike the state’s notice to seek the death penalty against Coleman for the stabbing death of Gagandeep Singh in Kootenai in 2017.

Coleman, a 20-year-old from Puyallup, is accused of repeatedly stabbing Singh inside Singh’s parked minivan taxicab in August 2017. Coleman remained inside the minivan as Singh bled to death, rendering neither help nor summoning for help, according to statements Coleman made to sheriff’s detectives following his arrest. Singh, a 22-year-old from Spokane Valley, Wash., was stabbed more than 20 times, according to the Bonner County Coroner’s Office.

Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall notified the defense last year that the state would be seeking the death penalty due to aggravating factors in the killing, such as the cruel and callous nature of the attack.

But Roark argues that some of Idaho’s lethal injection methods have been condemned by human rights groups.

Idaho has four methods of lethal injection, two of which are known to cause prolonged pain and suffering, Roark said in court documents. Those methods involve the use of Pancuronium, potassium chloride and sodium thiopental.

Roark also filed a motion to exclude at trial audio and video recordings from inside the minivan, which was fitted with a surveillance system.

However, Roark argues there were no signs advising riders of the recording equipment, which meant Coleman did not consent to being recorded. He further argues that Washington law should be applied in the case because Coleman and Singh are Washington residents and the cab ride originated in that state, court records show.

Hearings on the various motions are pending.

Coleman pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and is being held at the Bonner County Jail. His trial is set for April 2019.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.