KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas prosecutor is facing some unusual challenges in the capital murder case against a Missouri man accused of killing three people at two Jewish sites in suburban Kansas City.

Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe has rejected two offers from Frazier Glenn Miller Junior’s attorneys to have Miller plead guilty in exchange for taking the death penalty off the table. Howe says the most severe crimes deserve the stiffest punishment allowed by law.

Critics say Howe’s pursuit of the death penalty is politically motivated, especially since the 74-year-old defendant is dying of chronic emphysema and probably won’t live long enough to be executed. Howe would not comment on the ongoing case.

Miller is charged with killing William Lewis Corporon, Reat Griffin Underwood and Terri LaManno in April 2014.