Posted on 02/13/2007 6:36:40 AM PST by Responsibility2nd
TAMPA — A Florida inmate wasn't properly sedated and could have felt like he was suffocating in a botched execution last year, a medical expert told the state's lethal injection commission Monday.
Witness descriptions of Angel Diaz gasping for air indicate the inmate felt the effect of a paralyzing chemical used in Florida's three-drug cocktail, said Columbia University anesthesiologist Dr. Mark Heath.
"That is a classic sign — that fish out of water look — of a person who is partially paralyzed who is struggling to gasp for breath," he said.
Diaz's Dec. 13 execution took about 20 minutes longer than the typical execution and required a rare second round of lethal chemicals. Then-Gov. Jeb Bush subsequently halted all executions and created the 11-member commission to investigate.
Monday's hearing included testimony by Alachua County Medical Examiner Dr. William Hamilton, who conducted Diaz's autopsy. He said the autopsy revealed that Diaz had a heart condition that would have caused lethal drugs to kill him faster.
But Hamilton said IV lines went completely through veins in both of Diaz's arms. The lethal drugs were consequently distributed into Diaz's tissues, he said, causing the inmate to more slowly fall unconscious and die.
"None of the materials injected went to the right place," he said.
After the execution, Hamilton said, pockets of chemicals about a foot long — essentially large blisters — formed on both Diaz's arms. He said one of the chemicals used in the process is known for its caustic effect.
But he declined to say whether he believed Diaz felt pain.
Heath, who has testified in challenges to lethal injection across the country, also stopped short of saying whether he believed Diaz likely suffered in the execution.
But he was highly critical of the execution team's decision-making after the first IV line failed to work. Switching to a backup line before a sedative took effect could have caused Diaz to feel the effects of the final two drugs, Heath said.
"They did exactly the wrong thing," he said.
Florida's execution procedure is similar to the method used in the 36 other states with lethal injection. The inmate is first injected with sodium pentothal to render them unconscious, followed by pancuronium bromide to paralyze the muscles. Potassium chloride is then injected to stop the inmate's heart.
Heath questioned the kinds of drugs used and the way they're administered. Even veterinarians don't used the paralytic drug when euthanizing animals because it masks whether the sedative worked, he said.
He also questioned whether medically trained and qualified individuals were inserting and monitoring IV lines. But he said getting medical professionals to improve executions could be difficult.
"Many people would not be comfortable with injecting drugs into a defenseless human being," he said.
State Sen. Victor Crist, R-Tampa, and other commission members challenged parts of Heath's testimony. Crist, who helped write legislation implementing lethal injection in Florida, called for an expert witness who has testified on behalf of states defending the death penalty to testify at a future hearing.
The commission is scheduled to issue a bare-bones draft this week and a more complete report with recommendations March 1. It will meet again at least one more time, next Monday.
Hearings to date have been held in front of small crowds comprised mostly of death-penalty opponents and attorneys. While medical experts and a death-penalty attorney have testified to problems in the Diaz execution, Florida Department of Corrections officials have said they saw nothing unusual in the procedure.
Monday's hearing featured the testimony of Brenda Whitehead, a corrections employee who witnessed the execution. She said Diaz barely moved during the procedure.
Todd Doss, an attorney who represents Death Row inmates, said commission members failed to question the contradiction. Medical experts have painted a picture of events that conflicts with claims that nothing unusual happened, he said.
"I think you saw the bias of the commission coming out today," he said.
My sentiments exactly.......
What did his victim feel ...? They DO need more practice.
Did you see the scenes in the movie Elizabeth I where she had some people executed by opening their guts and showing them their organs while they were still conscious? Now that was an execution.
I missed that scene from "Elizabeth" but I saw it in "Braveheart."
Having said that, I think he's lucky that's all he got. What did his victims feel?
I remember reading somewhere that they can't use Doctor's for this since it is against their Oath or something. That's fine, hire a junky from jail, they know how to get their precious drugs into their veins and not waste them on muscle tissue!
Does this event demonstrate cruel and unusual punishment to those being executed by lethal injection?
I think not. When that phrase was inserted into the Constitution, punishment was designed to cause the person pain. The pain was part of the punishment. Often, the executions were designed to be slow to maximize the pain.
Lethal injection is designed to spare the person pain. Any pain that may be caused is incidental to the execution and is unintentional.
I'm originally from Idaho, and I think we've got a pretty good system: we use lethal injection, but should that prove "impractical," then it's off to the firing squad with your scummy @$$.
Instead of using the veins in the inmate's arms, why don't they use the big fat one in their neck? Even if the inmate had lousy veins, it would be hard to muck things up using that vein.
"A Florida inmate wasn't properly sedated and could have felt like he was suffocating in a botched execution last year"
One can only hope!
What is amazing me here is where are all the freepers who were complaining about heartless comments regarding prisoners who are raped in prison. There were similar comments about doing the crime and doing the time, but on that thread all these people were getting attacked. Seems the same to me. If you commit a crime, be prepaired to pay the consequences. If you don't want to run the risk of a "botched" execution, then don't kill anyone. If you don't want to get raped in prison, don't get arrested three times for DWI. It's not like it's a secret that bad things happen in prison. This is common knowledge. Soap on a rope and all that.
I read that thread.
Many FReepers (it seems) could care less about rape in prison or botched executions.
I watched, the other night, on the National Geographic channel some "Lockdown" shows. They showed the very worst of violent inmates in maximum security prisons.
To me, these prisons torture those criminals. Talk about cruel and inhumane punishment! I can only imagine the mentality that prison guards must have as they interact with these feces-flinging wild inmates.
For their own good, and for the good of society, these prisons need mass executions to put those people down. If a person is so violent that they need lockdown 23 hours per day, then they deserve the mercy that only a needle can bring.
But no one ever said that prisons were places of mercy. So they continue to be warehouses of the most deranged and depraved people that ever polluted this earth.
Incompetent morons. Missing the vein with both needles is just stupid.
Of course, depending on such fine technique for a method of execution is even stupider. I am no fan of the death penalty, but aside from that, I see nothing postive about lethal injection. It gives the illusion of being antiseptic, but introduces other horrors.
If you're gonna do it, what's wrong with a good old, fashioned hanging? Or a firing squad. Or a Guillotine? Simple, foolproof and quick. Isn't that what you want in a method of execution?
"Headfirst into a giant wood chipper "
Gross and disgusting. Not comparable to the almost-medical technique of poisoning through a needle.
Speaking of gross and disgusting, ever read "Man's Fate"? About the Chinese cultural revolution. The "dissidents" or "freedom fighters" (depending if you read the Times or the Post) were thrown headfirst into a coal furnace.
Hang them or get old sparky working.
It was better in Liz's movie although shorter. They showed the guy his own entrails. Quite moving.
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