and again at 11-09. "Henas not expired, " Kames said alter eacn cneck. At 11:10, the electrocution cycle was
administered again and Bames pron Pronounced reterson geaa al 11.15. reterson’s prain was geaq after tne mrst1U-secona s L
Dob = = = SUCbangGlClgl ef W "Meatpi0i0i0ppa"y t«G9)
said Dad Bass, manager of operations and training for the corrections department's eastern region.
<LI> January 24, 1992. Arkansas. Rickey Ray Rector. It took medical staff more than 50 minutes to find a suitable vein in
Rectorsarm. Witnesses were not permitted to view this scene, but reported hearing Rector's loud moans throughout the
process. During the ordeal Rector (who suffered serious brain damage from a lobotomy) tried to help the medical personne!
find a vein. The administrator of States' Department of Corrections medical programs said (paraphrased by a newspaper
reporter) "the moans did come as a team of two medical people that had grown to five worked on both sides of his body
to find a vein. " The administrator said "That may have contributed to his occasional outbursts. ",;
<Ll>March 10, 1992. Oklahoma. Robyn Lee Parks. Parks had a violent reaction to the drugs used in the lethal injection. Two
minutes after the drugs were administered, the muscles in his jaws, neck,and abdomen began to react spasmodically for
approximately 45 seconds. Parks continued to gasp and violently gag. Death came eleven minutes after the drugs were
administered. Said TulsaWorld reporter Wayne Greene, " The Death looked scary and ugly."
<Ll>April 6, 1992. Donald Eugene Harding. Arizona. Gas Chamber.At 12:18. one pound of sodium cyanide pellets dropped
into a vat beneath Harding's chair containing six quarts of distilled water and six pints of sulfuric acid. Cameron Harper a
reporter forKTVK-TV said, "! watched Harding go into violent spasms for 57 seconds. & quot: Harper continued,
", Then he began to convulseless frequently. His back muscles rippled. The spasms grew less violent. | timed them as
Sunday September 8,1886 America Online: JohnMasNJ Page: 2
ending six minutes and 37 seconds after they began. His head went down in little jerking motion. Obviously, the gentleman
was suffering. This was a violent death, make no mistake about it. " Harper went on, "It was an ugly event. We put
animals to death more humanely. This was not a clean and simple death. Another Witness, Carla McClain, a reporter for
theTucson Citizen said, "Harding's death was extremely violent. He was in great pain. | heard him gasp and moan. | saw
his body turn form red to purple. & quot;
<LI>Apnil 23, 1992. Texas. Billy Wayne White. It took 47 minutes for the authorities to find a suitable vein, and White
eventually had to help them.
<Ll>May 7, 1992. Texas. Justin Lee May. May had an unusually violent reaction to the lethal drugs. According to Robert
Wermsman, a reporter for the Item (Huntsville), May "gasped, coughed and reared against his heavy leather restraints,
coughing once again before his body froze..." Associated Press reporterMichael Graczyk wrote, "He went into a
coughing spasm, groaned and gasped, lifted his head from the death chamber gumey and would have arched his back if he
had not been belted down. After he stopped breathing, his eyes and moth remained open. "
<LIl>May 10, 1994. Illinois. John Wayne Gacy. After the execution began, one of the three lethal drugs clogged the tube
leading into Gacy's arm, and therefore stopped flowing. Blinds covering the window through which witnesses observed the
execution were then drawn. The clogged tube was replaced with a new one, the blinds were opened, and the execution
process resumed. Anesthesiologists blamed the problem on the inexperience of prison officials who were conducting the
execution, saying that proper procedures taught in "IV 101" would have prevented the error.
<LI>May 3, 1995. Missoun. Emmitt Foster. Foster was not pronounced dead until 30 minutes after the executioners began
ap
WOR Rett Re Fe 1 NE IN RAD ER NEN tr et A Bed ed ee a el |
<LI> December 13, 1988. Texas. Ray. Raymand lLandrv Prannincred dean 49 minittes after hainn cer tn the averittinn ¢
‘tf @ © - apooott = = = =lece = =' legg! =twalpi0i0i0 pe’; b<Gt’ > 36 :
and 24 minutes after the drugs first started flowing ‘into his arms. Two minutes into the killing, the syringe came out of
Landry's vein,spraying the deadiy chemicals across the room towards witnesses. The execution team had to reinsert the
catheter into the vein. The curtain was pulled for 14 minutes so witnesses could not observe the intermission.
Lo
Sunday September 8, 1886 America Online: JohnMasNJ Page: 1
<Ll>May 24, 1989. Texas. Stephen McCoy. He had such a violent physical reaction to the drugs (heaving chest, gasping,
choking, etc.) that one of the witnesses (male) fainted, crashing into and knocking over another witness. Houston attomey
Karen Zellars, who represented McCoy and witnessed the execution, thought the fainting would catalyze a chain reaction. The
Texas Attorney General admitted the inmate "seemed to have somewhat stronger reaction," adding " The
drugs might have been administered in a heavier dose or more rapidly. & quot;
<LI> July 14, 1989. Horace F. Dunkins.Alabama. Electrocution. It took two jolts (nine minutes apart) to kill this mentally
retarded inmate. The foutup was caused by "human error" -— faulty cable hookups resulting in an insufficient
amount current to cause death . Officials had to rewire the chair after the first jolt. Death was pronounced19 minutes after the
first jolt.
<LIl>May 4, 1990. Jesse Joseph Tafero. Florida. Electrocution. When the state replaced a "natural& quot; sponge with a
synthetic sponge in the headpiece of the execution apparatus, six inch flames erupted, and three jolts of power were required
to stop Tafero's breathing. Support for the faulty sponge theory was generated by sticking a part of it into a "common
household taster"and noting that it smoldered and caught fire.
<Ll>September 12, 1990. Charles Walker. Illinois. Lethal Injection. According to Dr. Edward A. Bruner over 5 minutes after the
activation of lilinois’s lethal injection machine, and more than two minutes after the plunger had injected the killing solution,
Mr. Walkers's heart had not stopped, the Illinois Department of Corrections officials ordered the viewing blinds closed. The
witnesses were not aware that Mr. Walker had not died, and were not told that there was a problem.
Without removing Mr. Walker form the equipment, Mr. Sutterfield inspected the equipment and discovered a kink in the
intravenous line. At this point he straightened out the line, and short time later Mr. Walker's heart stopped. In addition, Mr.
Sutterhed stated that the intravenous line was improperly inserted in Mr.Walker's arm.
<LI> October 17, 1990. Wilber L. Evans. Virginia. Electrocution. The Department of Corrections increased the voltage on the
electric chair to compensate for Evans's large size. When the electricity hit him, Evans lunged forward, smashing his face
against the hood. Blood from Evan's nose and eyes was visible coming form under the hood and continued to flow, staining
Evan's shirt.
<Ll>August 22, 1991. Derick Lynn Peterson. Virginia. Electrocution. Correction workers had to administer a second dose of
electricity to execute Peterson because his heart continued to beat after the initial normal jolts. At 11P.M. Peterson was
adminstered the normal dose of 1,725-volt surge for 10 seconds, followed by a 240-volt surge for 110 seconds. His head
jerked and his fists clenched. Prison doctor David Bames felt Peterson's neck and checked him with stethoscope at 11:05
a” - a “~ ‘
was generated by sticking a part of it into a "common household
taster&équot;and noting that it smoldered and caught fire.
<p>
<LI>September 12, 1990. Charles Walker. Illinois. Lethal Injection. According
to Dr. Edward A. Bruner over 5 minutes after the activation of Illinois’s
lethal injection machine, and more than two minutes after the plunger had
injected the killing solution, Mr. Walkers’s heart had not stopped, the
Tllinois Department of Corrections officials ordered the viewing blinds
closed. The witnesses were not aware that Mr. Walker had not died, and were
not told that there was a problem.
<p> ‘
Without removing Mr. Walker form the equipment, Mr. Sutterfield inspected the
equipment and discovered a kink in the intravenous line. At this point he
straightened out the line, and short time later Mr. Walker’s heart stopped. In
addition, Mr. Sutterfied stated that the intravenous line was improperly
inserted in Mr.Walker's arm.
<p> .
<LI>October 17, 1990. Wilber L. Evans. Virginia. Electrocution. The Department
of Corrections increased the voltage on the electric chair to compensate for
Evans's large size. When the electricity hit him, Evans lunged forward,
smashing his Face against the hood. Blood from Evan’s nose and eyes was
visible coming form under the hood and continued to flow, staining Evan’s
shirt.
<p>
<LI>August 22, 1991. Derick Lynn Peterson. Virginia. Electrocution. Correction
workers had to administer a second dose of electricity to execute Peterson
because his heart continued to beat after the initial normal jolts. At 11P.M.
Peterson was adminstered the normal dose of 1,725-volt surge for 10 seconds,
followed by a 240~-volt surge for 110 seconds. His head jerked and his fists
clenched. Prison doctor David Barnes felt Petetson’s neck and checked him with
stethoscope at 11:05 and again at 11:09. "Hehas not expired, "
Barnes said after each check. At 11:10, the electrocution cycle was
administered again and Barnes pronounced Peterson dead at 11:13. Peterson’s
brain was dead after the firstl0-second surge, said David Bass, manager of
operations and training for the corrections department’s eastern region.
<p> ;
<Li>January 24, 1992. Arkansas. Rickey Ray Rector. It took medical staff more
than 50 minutes to find a suitable vein in Rector’sarm. Witnesses were not
permitted to view this scene, but reported hearing Rector‘'s loud moans
throughout the process. During the ordeal Rector (who suffered serious brain
damage from a lobotomy) tried to help the medical personnel find a vein. The
administrator of States’ Department of Corrections medical programs said
(paraphrased by a newspaper reporter) "the moans did come as a team of
two medical people that had grown to five worked on both sides of his body to
find a vein." The administrator said "That may have contributed to
his occasional outbursts. "
<p>
<LI>March 10, 1992. Oklahoma. Robyn Lee Parks. Parks had a violent reaction to
the drugs used in the lethal injection, Two minutes after the drugs were
‘administered, the muscles in his jaws, fleck,and abdomen began to react
spasmodically for approximately 45 see@nd#. Parks continued to gasp and
9-7-1996 America Online:Galba33 Page 3
_—
the flow of deadly chemical into his arms. Seven minutes after the chemicals began to flow, the blinds e closed to prohibi
Cie Lede Vet! FED POCO ered) LAPT Leese at
the witnesses from viewina fhe scen. mannan: bliass vemen wn boa nanca A vembil blenn wimidnan afbne dant neonuniiman wo Ram nesdinnans
{10001 $20, aston
coroner who pronounced death, the problem was caused by the tightness of the leather straps that bound Foster to the
execution gumey; it was so tight that the flow of chemicals into the veins was restricted. It was several minutes after a prison
worker finally loosened the strap that death was pronounced. The coroner entered the death chamber twenty minutes after the
execution began, noticed the problem,and told the officials to loosen the strap so then execution could proceed. </OL>
<hr size=8>
i it it ee ee ee mw ee
DEATH TORTURE IN FLORIDA
-— Tue, 5 Dec 1995 (Starke, Fla.)
Yesterday, Dec. 4, 1995, Jerry White was brutally executed in Florida's electric chair. Two reporters stated that White
screamed during the electrocution after the current started to flow through his body.One witness said afterwards:
"| was seated in the 2nd row of witnesses. The witness room is separated from the execution chamber by what appears to be
thick glass. My seat was approximaely 17 to 20 feet from the electric chair. The execution procedure includes the placing of
what looks like a rubber shield orhood over the entire face of the prisoner. After the hood was placed over Jerry White's face |
saw the signai for the switch to be thrown. Shortly thereafter | saw Jerry's body stiffen and strain up and back against the
heavy straps securing his body and limbs tightly to the chair.
"Simultaneously | heard a plainly audible agonized groan coming from Jerry, accompanied by what sounded like the intake of
a deep breath. This lasted for up to 5 seconds in my estimation. | have witnessedone other execution in the Florida electric
chair, on April 22, 1994. Nothing comparable to the groan and deep breath | witnessed from Jemy White occurred at thai
execution.
"| have heard that others who witnessed Jerry White's execution have likewise never before witnessed a similar phenomenon,
despite have seen many more than !. The most vivid impression that this made on me wasthat at least during the initial few
seconds of current, Jerry Whitewas experiencing intense agony and pain."
Jerry White was the first person executed in Florida this year, but the 35th overall. He was the 50th person to be executed in
the USA in 1995, and 307th since America resumed capital punishment in Jan. 1977.
Phillip Atkins, a man with the emotional maturity of a 15-year-old was in the holding cell next to the death chamber yesterday
and heard Jerry White cry out during that execution. "I heard it all ... it was so scary,” he said. Atkins was executed the day
after, less than 24 hours later.
Atkins had been convicted of beating a boy to death after the boy had threatened to claim Atkins had molested him. White
Sunday September 8,1896 America Online: JonnMasNJ Page: 3
had been sentenced to death for the execution-style slaying of a store owner near Orlando.
[source: Amnesty International USA; from news reports}
<hr>
<center>[Main Page] | [DP Issues] | [Wrongful Executions] | [Alerts] | [State Listing} | [Links] | [Malt]
| Discussion Forum
</center>
TULSNeSSs capeesh) CleseHiTd CCIE we a 260) A Seciaereipieast IeCn aA Bp?
Subj: Botched Lethal Injections
Date: 96-09-05 22:38:21 EDT
‘From: bart11@linkonline. net (Bart Cox)
To: johnmasnj@aol.com
http://www. abolition-now.com/botch. htm!
<BASE HREF="http: //www. abolition-now.com/botch. htm!">
<HEAD>
<TITLE>Botc hed Lethal Injections</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<CENTER> BOTCHED EXECUTIONS</CENTER>
All the information concerning fethal injections except for the case of Charles Walker was provided by Professor Michael
Radelet of the University of Florida.
The case of Charles Walker was provided by the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.
<OL>
<LI>Apnil 22, 1983. John Evans. Alabama. Electrocution. After the first jolt of electricity, sparks and flames erupted from the
electrode attached to Evan's leg. The electrode then burst from the strap holding it in place and caught on fire. Smoke and
sparks came out from under the hood. Two physicians entered the chamber and found a heartbeat. The electrode was
reattached to his leg. More smoke and buming flesh. Again the doctors founda heartbeat. Ignoring the pleas of Evans's
lawyer, Russ Canan,a third jolt was applied. The execution took 14 minutes and left Evans's body charred and smoldering.
<LI> September 2, 1983. Jimmy Lee Gray. Mississippi. Gas Chamber. Officials had to clear the room eight minutes after the
gas was released when Gray's desperate gasps for air repulsed witnesses. His attorney, Dennis Baiske of Montgomery,
Alabama, criticized state officials for clearing the room when the inmate was stil lalive. Says David Bruck, " Jimmy Lee
Gray died banging his head against a stee! pole in the gas chamber while reporters counted his moans. "
<LI> December 12, 1984. Alpha Otis Stephens. Georgia. Electrocution. After the first jolt of electricity failed to kill him,
Stephens struggled for eight minutes before a second charge finished the job. The first joit took two minutes, officials waited a
full six minutes to allow Stephens's body to cool before physicians could examine him (and declare that another jolt was
needed). During that six minute interval, Stephens took 23 breaths, according to witness.
<Ll>March 13, 1985. Texas. Stephen Peter Morin. Had to probe both arms and legs with needles for 45 minutes before they
found the vein.
<Ll>October 16, 1985. William E. Vandiver. Indiana. Electrocution. After the first jolt of 2300 volts, physicians found
Vandiverwas still breathing. The current had to be applied three moretimes before he died. Vandiver's attomey, Herbert Shaps,
witnessed the killing and said it was outrageous. The Department of Correction acimitted the execution "did not go
according to plan." The physician who pronounced death said, " This is very rare. & quot;
<Ll>August 20, 1986. Texas. Randy Woolls. A drug addict, Woolishad to help the execution technicians find a good vein for
the execution.
«<!l>.ne 24 1987 Texas Filiot Johnson It took 35 minutas to insert the catheter into his vein
