OCALA, Florida (AP) -- Gov. Jeb Bush suspended executions in Florida after a medical examiner said Friday that prison officials botched the insertion of the needles when a convicted killer was put to death earlier this week.
Separately, a federal judge in California imposed a moratorium on executions in the nation's most populous state, declaring that the state's method of lethal injection runs the risk of violating the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel ruled in San Jose that California's "implementation of lethal injection is broken." But he said: "It can be fixed."
Fogel said the case raised the question of whether a three-drug cocktail administered by the San Quentin State Prison is so painful that it "offends" the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
Fogel said he was compelled "to answer that question in the affirmative."
California has been under a capital punishment moratorium since February, when Fogel called off the execution of rapist and murderer Michael Morales amid concerns that condemned inmates might suffer excruciating deaths.
Fogel found substantial evidence that the last six men executed at San Quentin might have been conscious and still breathing when lethal drugs were administered.
He ordered anesthesiologists to be on hand, or demanded that a licensed medical professional inject a large, fatal dose of a sedative instead of the additional paralyzing agent and heart-stopping drugs that are normally used. But no medical professional was willing to participate.
In Florida, medical examiner Dr. William Hamilton said Wednesday's execution of Angel Nieves Diaz took 34 minutes -- twice as long as usual -- and required a rare second dose of lethal chemicals because the needles were inserted clear through his veins and into the flesh in his arms. The chemicals are supposed to go into the veins. (Watch officials explain why it took 2 injections and 34 minutes )
Hamilton, who performed the autopsy, refused to say whether he thought Diaz died a painful death.
"I am going to defer answers about pain and suffering until the autopsy is complete," he said. He said the results were preliminary and other tests may take several weeks.
Missing a vein when administering the injections would cause "both psychological and physical discomfort -- probably pretty severe," said Dr. J. Kent Garman, an emeritus professor of anesthesia at the Stanford School of Medicine in California.
"All the drugs would be much slower to affect the body because they're not going into a blood vessel. They're going under the skin. They take a long time to be absorbed by the body," said Garman, said he was ethically opposed to lethal injection.
An inmate would remain conscious for a longer period of time and would likely be aware of increased difficulty breathing and pain caused by angina, the interruption of blood flow to the heart, he said.
Jonathan Groner, associate professor of surgery at Ohio State University, said the injection would cause excruciating pain "like your arms are on fire."
Bush created a commission to examine the state's lethal injection process in light of Diaz's case, and he halted the signing of any more death warrants until the panel completes its final report by March 1.
The governor said he wants to ensure the process does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment, as some death penalty foes argued bitterly after Diaz's execution. Florida has 374 people on death row; it has carried out four executions this year.
Medical findings contradict prison officials
Diaz, 55, was put to death for murdering the manager of a Miami topless bar during a holdup in 1979.
The medical examiner's findings contradicted the explanation given by prison officials, who said Diaz needed the second dose because liver disease caused him to metabolize the lethal drugs more slowly. Hamilton said that although there were records that Diaz had hepatitis, his liver appeared normal.
Executions in Florida normally take no more than about 15 minutes, with the inmate rendered unconscious and motionless within three to five minutes. But Diaz appeared to be moving 24 minutes after the first injection, grimacing, blinking, licking his lips, blowing and appearing to mouth words.
As a result of the chemicals going into Diaz's arms around the elbow, he had a 12-inch chemical burn on his right arm and an 11-inch chemical burn on his left arm, Hamilton said.
Florida Corrections Secretary James McDonough said the execution team did not see any swelling of the arms, which would have been an indication that the chemicals were going into tissues and not veins.
Diaz's attorney, Suzanne Myers Keffler, reacted angrily to the findings.
"This is complete negligence on the part of the state," she said. "When he was still moving after the first shot of chemicals, they should have known there was a problem and they shouldn't have continued. This shows a complete disregard for Mr. Diaz. This is disgusting." (Watch Keffer describe Diaz "suffering in pain" -- 2:42 )
Earlier, in a court hearing in Ocala, she had won an assurance from the attorney general's office that she could have access to all findings and evidence from the autopsy. She withdrew a request for an independent autopsy.
David Elliot, spokesman for the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, said experts his group had contacted suspected that liver disease was not the explanation for the problem.
"Florida has certainly deservedly earned a reputation for being a state that conducts botched executions, whether its electrocution or lethal injection," Elliot said. "We just think the Florida death penalty system is broken from start to finish."
Florida got rid of the electric chair after two inmates' heads caught fire during executions in the 1990s and another suffered a severe nosebleed in 2000. Lethal injection was portrayed as a more humane and more reliable process.
Twenty people have been executed by injection in Florida since the state switched from the electric chair in 2000.
Lethal injection is the preferred execution method in 37 states.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Friday, December 15, 2006
"The death penalty is not only a form of vengeance, but also a cowardly act by humans."
Blogger's note: Jeb Bush calls this execution a "procedure" twice while addressing the public. I wonder if that's the word he uses when he goes home at night and begs forgiveness from his Almighty. Put on your big boy underpants and call it what it is, Jeb: murder.
Editor's Note: Associated Press reporter Ron Word has witnessed more than 50 Florida executions since 1984, including all 20 the state has conducted by lethal injection.
JACKSONVILLE, Florida (AP) -- It seemed like Angel Nieves Diaz would never die.
Two executioners injected him with three chemicals that were supposed to do the job in a few minutes.
But 10 minutes later, he was still alive, his eyes darting back at the 25 witnesses.
Diaz shuddered several times, but continued moving and breathing for nearly half an hour.
He finally died 34 minutes after the execution began.
I've witnessed all 20 lethal injections in Florida.
In most cases, the inmate is unconscious in three to five minutes and dies in 10 to 15 minutes.
But Diaz, who was condemned for shooting the manager of a Miami topless club in 1979, needed a rare second dose of chemicals Wednesday before dying.
Seconds after the chemicals began flowing, Diaz looked up, blinked several times and appeared to be mouthing words, perhaps a prayer, some suggested.
A minute later, he began grimacing, later licking his lips and blowing. He appeared to move for 24 minutes after the first injection.
In most Florida executions, witnesses have little to watch. No talking is allowed, and the only sound comes from a noisy window air conditioner.
First, the official witnesses take seats in the first two rows. Reporters are assigned the back two rows.
Then brown drapes separating the witness room windows from the execution chamber are opened. The inmate can be seen strapped to a gurney, IV tubes running into each arm and a sheet pulled up to below his chin. Plastic tubes extend through a hole in the wall where the two executioners, who are paid $150 in cash each, wait for a signal from the warden to begin.
Lethal injections are done in the same room where Florida's famous electric chair "Old Sparky" was used to electrocute 44 inmates after the state resumed executions in 1979 following a 15-year hiatus.
Florida later switched to lethal injection because two inmates' heads caught fire during executions in the 1990s and another suffered a severe nose bleed in 2000.
After the curtains open, the warden asks if the inmate has a final statement.
A microphone hanging from the ceiling picks up the condemned person's last words.
In a faint voice, Diaz proclaimed his innocence in Spanish and criticized the way he was being put to death.
"The death penalty is not only a form of vengeance, but also a cowardly act by humans," he said. "I'm sorry for what is happening to me and my family who have been put through this."
In October, Gainesville serial killer Danny Rolling sang a spiritual song.
In 2002, Aileen Wuornos, a prostitute who killed six customers, predicted that she would somehow be back.
After the statement, the warden nods, signaling for the chemicals to begin flowing. Two medical professionals watch a heart monitor attached to the inmate. When it shows no activity, they emerge wearing strange-looking "moon suits," which cover them from head to toe.
Corrections officials say it is to protect their identity.
After checking for a pulse and shining a flashlight in the inmate's eyes, one of them nods to the warden, who notifies the governor and makes the final announcement: "The sentence of the state of Florida vs. Angel Diaz has been carried out at 6:36 p.m. Please exit to the rear of the room."
Department of Corrections spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger said she doesn't believe Diaz felt any pain and had liver disease, which required the second dose.
"It was not unanticipated. The metabolism of the drugs to the liver is slowed," Plessinger said.
Diaz's cousin Maria Otero said the family had never heard he suffered from liver disease.
"Why a stupid second dose?" Otero said.
Gov. Jeb Bush said the Department of Corrections followed all protocols.
"A preexisting medical condition of the inmate was the reason tonight's procedure took longer than recent procedures carried out this year," the governor said in a news release.
A spokesman for Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, called Diaz's death a botched execution.
"They had to execute him twice," Mark Elliot said. "If Floridians could witness the pain and the agony of the executed man's family, they would end the death penalty."
Defense attorneys and death penalty opponents were outraged over the length of time Diaz took to die.
"I am definitely appalled at what happened. I have no doubt he suffered unduly," Angel Nieves Diaz's attorney, Suzanne Myers Keffer, told the AP.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Editor's Note: Associated Press reporter Ron Word has witnessed more than 50 Florida executions since 1984, including all 20 the state has conducted by lethal injection.
JACKSONVILLE, Florida (AP) -- It seemed like Angel Nieves Diaz would never die.
Two executioners injected him with three chemicals that were supposed to do the job in a few minutes.
But 10 minutes later, he was still alive, his eyes darting back at the 25 witnesses.
Diaz shuddered several times, but continued moving and breathing for nearly half an hour.
He finally died 34 minutes after the execution began.
I've witnessed all 20 lethal injections in Florida.
In most cases, the inmate is unconscious in three to five minutes and dies in 10 to 15 minutes.
But Diaz, who was condemned for shooting the manager of a Miami topless club in 1979, needed a rare second dose of chemicals Wednesday before dying.
Seconds after the chemicals began flowing, Diaz looked up, blinked several times and appeared to be mouthing words, perhaps a prayer, some suggested.
A minute later, he began grimacing, later licking his lips and blowing. He appeared to move for 24 minutes after the first injection.
In most Florida executions, witnesses have little to watch. No talking is allowed, and the only sound comes from a noisy window air conditioner.
First, the official witnesses take seats in the first two rows. Reporters are assigned the back two rows.
Then brown drapes separating the witness room windows from the execution chamber are opened. The inmate can be seen strapped to a gurney, IV tubes running into each arm and a sheet pulled up to below his chin. Plastic tubes extend through a hole in the wall where the two executioners, who are paid $150 in cash each, wait for a signal from the warden to begin.
Lethal injections are done in the same room where Florida's famous electric chair "Old Sparky" was used to electrocute 44 inmates after the state resumed executions in 1979 following a 15-year hiatus.
Florida later switched to lethal injection because two inmates' heads caught fire during executions in the 1990s and another suffered a severe nose bleed in 2000.
After the curtains open, the warden asks if the inmate has a final statement.
A microphone hanging from the ceiling picks up the condemned person's last words.
In a faint voice, Diaz proclaimed his innocence in Spanish and criticized the way he was being put to death.
"The death penalty is not only a form of vengeance, but also a cowardly act by humans," he said. "I'm sorry for what is happening to me and my family who have been put through this."
In October, Gainesville serial killer Danny Rolling sang a spiritual song.
In 2002, Aileen Wuornos, a prostitute who killed six customers, predicted that she would somehow be back.
After the statement, the warden nods, signaling for the chemicals to begin flowing. Two medical professionals watch a heart monitor attached to the inmate. When it shows no activity, they emerge wearing strange-looking "moon suits," which cover them from head to toe.
Corrections officials say it is to protect their identity.
After checking for a pulse and shining a flashlight in the inmate's eyes, one of them nods to the warden, who notifies the governor and makes the final announcement: "The sentence of the state of Florida vs. Angel Diaz has been carried out at 6:36 p.m. Please exit to the rear of the room."
Department of Corrections spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger said she doesn't believe Diaz felt any pain and had liver disease, which required the second dose.
"It was not unanticipated. The metabolism of the drugs to the liver is slowed," Plessinger said.
Diaz's cousin Maria Otero said the family had never heard he suffered from liver disease.
"Why a stupid second dose?" Otero said.
Gov. Jeb Bush said the Department of Corrections followed all protocols.
"A preexisting medical condition of the inmate was the reason tonight's procedure took longer than recent procedures carried out this year," the governor said in a news release.
A spokesman for Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, called Diaz's death a botched execution.
"They had to execute him twice," Mark Elliot said. "If Floridians could witness the pain and the agony of the executed man's family, they would end the death penalty."
Defense attorneys and death penalty opponents were outraged over the length of time Diaz took to die.
"I am definitely appalled at what happened. I have no doubt he suffered unduly," Angel Nieves Diaz's attorney, Suzanne Myers Keffer, told the AP.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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