Andriza (or Andrew) Mircovich (, 1879 – May 14, 1913) was an Austro-Hungarian national of Serb descent. He was the only prisoner ever to be executed by shooting in the US state of Nevada. He had been sentenced to death for the premeditated murder of John Gregovich in Tonopah, Nevada. Mircovich felt that he was owed more money from Gregovich's administration of his late cousin's estate and resorted to settling the matter by stabbing Gregovich to death. A 1911 statute was passed by the Nevada Legislature that allowed a death row inmate to opt to die by shooting or hanging; that statute was repealed in 1921. Mircovich was insistent on shooting, claiming that hanging often took too long. After the Nevada State Prison warden, George W. Cowing, was unable to find five men to form a firing squad, a shooting machine was requisitioned and built to carry out the execution. Background Andriza Mircovich was a 31-year-old miner and a recent immigrant to the US from Austria-Hungary. Mircovich spoke little English and was barely literate in his native Serbian dialect. His cousin Christopher Mircovich had died in a fire in the Tonopah Belmont Mine on February 23, 1911. Because Christopher did not have a will, his estate was turned over to Nye County public administrator Arthur H. Keenan. At the recommendation of District Attorney James A. Sanders, Andriza Mircovich and Christopher Mircovich's surviving siblings, Vasso and Maria, met with John Gregovich on May 10, 1911. Gregovich, who also went by the surname Greggory, was a fellow Serb from Castellastva, (now Petrovac), who was handling the cases of other Serbian miners who had died in the fire. Mircovich, who was unfamiliar with the probate laws in Nevada, began cursing Gregovich and Sanders because he was frustrated over being unable to take sole control of the estate. At the time of his death, Christopher Mircovich's estate included $520 in cash, and a settlement of $2,000 from the Tonopah Belmont Company. On July 17, 1911, Gregovich issued a check for $50 to Andriza Mircovich, followed by another check for $1,742.50 to Vasso and Maria on July 22. $507.32 was added to the estate for money orders held in Christopher's name. After legal and administrative fees were paid, $966.25 in undisbursed funds remained in the estate. Mircovich believed that he was owed more money and his demands escalated into threats against Gregovich. On November 14,