The brother and lawyer representing the Howland man convicted of a deadly shootout say he has terminal cancer and want him released from prison, according to our print partner The Vindicator.

A story in Friday's edition says that court filings claim that Nasser Hamad has terminal kidney cancer.

Hamad, 48, is serving 36 years to life in prison for fatally shooting two men and wounding three other people during a confrontation in front if his Route 46 home in February of last year.

According to the Vindicator, Mike Hamad claims in an affidavit that his brother's cancer has spread to his lungs, making breathing difficult.

The report says that Hamad's defense attorney acknowledges that Ohio law doesn't provide for the release of convicted murderers due to medical reasons, but the lawyer claims the law violates the constitution's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.

In November, Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge Ronald Rice ordered Hamad to begin serving his sentence in the Lorain Correctional Institution.

In early February 21 News discovered that Hamad had been transferred to another undisclosed facility operated by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation.

Prison officials declined to reveal where or why Hamad had been transferred citing regulations set forth by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 which safeguards the privacy of medical information.

21 News reached out to family members who at the time did not respond.

At the end of February, Hamad was being kept in the Marion Correctional Institution.

Last week, 21 news learned that Hamad had again been moved, this time to the Pickaway Correctional Institution.

According to court records, Judge Rice on Thursday rejected a defense motion for parole, also denying the defense a hearing on the motion.

Hamad would be eligible for his first parole hearing in the year 2052 when he is 83 years old.