We previously discussed the botched execution in Oklahoma and the questions that it raised about our methods of execution. Now we have another horrific execution story to report. In Arizona, it took almost two hours for the prison to execute Joseph R. Wood III. The execution took so long that his counsel had time to file emergency papers with the federal court saying “He is still alive.”
Wood’s execution was given the green light after the United States Supreme Court overturned a stay of execution that had been granted by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The Ninth Circuit held that the state had to disclose the drugs and the executioners to be used in his lethal injection — a ruling that now seems prophetic though the matter is under investigation. Arizona has disclosed it uses a combination of midazolam and hydromorphone as well as the planned dosages. However, it would not reveal information about the manufacturers and suppliers of the drugs or details about the qualifications of the state prison employees assigned to the execution. The sources of these drugs, as we discussed earlier, have been a major controversy given the international movement to cut off access of U.S. prisons to drugs used in executions.
Wood was seen gasping for breath for more than an hour and a half before he died Wednesday. The execution began at 1:52 p.m., and the inmate was pronounced dead at 3:49 p.m. Witnesses counted over 600 gasps before he finally died. His lawyers rushed to try to get a court to intervene with no success. They filed with both state and federal courts as well as with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy through his clerk’s office.
In their filing to the district court, “He is still alive . . . This execution has violated Mr. Wood’s Eighth Amendment right to be executed in the absence of cruel and unusual punishment. We respectfully request that this court stop the execution and require that the Department of Corrections use the lifesaving provisions required in its protocol.”
Wood was convicted of shooting to death his ex-girlfriend, 29, and her father, 55, in 1989.
Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona made the following statement:
“While justice was carried out today, I directed the Department of Corrections to conduct a full review of the process,” she said. “One thing is certain, however: Inmate Wood died in a lawful manner, and by eyewitness and medical accounts he did not suffer. This is in stark comparison to the gruesome, vicious suffering that he inflicted on his two victims — and the lifetime of suffering he has caused their family.”
Government: Rich men in charge. All you death-culture advocates, brown-nosing the rich will not set you free. It is no one’s place on earth to take the life of another. William Kunstler said it best about joining the crowd, how everyone loses their mind and gets another: “Just because something is legal, does not make it morally right. The Holocaust was legal. The crucifixion of Jesus was legal.” I would add: The abortion of 45 million unborn children is legal. You all are aware of your immoral acculturation about as much as a CPU chip is aware of its operating system. From living in peace amongst each other, to enslavement in modern exchange economy, man truly has devolved.
He confessed to two killings, let him go slowwwwwww
Trickle-down torture in a nation of idiots.
A worse sentence would be +20 years in prison, and then forced-listening to O’Reilly or Stossel…..hell, any baby boomer will do. Is it 2016 yet?
Pussface has been all over the internet and now we get his photo here. Ok I feel sorry for him. But you humans need to learn which method of killing is effective. Guns are cheaper. Needle in the arm is for cowards Mr. Howard. If you are going to violate the Sixth Commandment then do it with some dignity. Shoot them in the head. It will be easier for the residents of this state to explain when their time comes with Saint Peter and the issue is whether they go to Hell, Heaven or Limbo. If they had shot pussface they might stand a better chance of not going to Hell or Limbo. Method matters. Killing is killing but be humane. Oh, that word is no longer pliable in this context. Ok, if you’re gonna be a bear, be a grizzly.
No one knows if he was conscious or not, or if he could feel pain or not.
It is a violation of the 8th Amendment.
“No one knows if he was conscious or not, or if he could feel pain or not.”
It is my understanding that attorneys for the state made statements to the effect that based on experience of the medical professionals present the prisoner was unconscious and feeling no pain.
The judge in the discussion seemed concerned by that assertion and questioned the basis for that conclusion. The judge seemed particularly interested in the fact that there was no instrument to measure brain activity, which I think is fair to say, is considered definitive regarding consciousness and death.
It seems to me that the states position and assertions regarding the prisoners condition go beyond the medical evidence available at the time of the execution.
To me, the fact that the state seems to be making arguments beyond what was possible to know at that time diminishes the states credibility.
To satisfy the bleeding hearts, we could use an overdose of Percocet. I’m sure a prison pharmacist could convert them into liquid form to avoid the silliness of foreign manufacturers refusing to supply a narcotic used to kill people. 40 generic Percocet only cost a few bucks. Giving him a glass of grain alcohol to drink would speed the process and make him feel better.
But given that these people are brutal killers, why worry over their feelings? A firing squad is cheap and efficient, with ammunition costing only a few bucks.
P.S. He killed two people and pointed his pistol at police officers who shot him. He wasn’t a nice person.
” Firing squad or hanging is the old legal method and should be used.”
At this point guillotine is looking pretty good. Cut off all blood flow to the brain and unconsciousness follows in maybe 15 seconds.
Texas has executed a fair number of innocents.
Here is how someone could make a million. Invent a guilotine blade that cuts and cauterizes at the same time. No fuss, no muss.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Paul C, Maybe Arizona should have public hangings like they do in Iran. Glad I now live in a state that does not have the death penalty.
BTW, the Supreme Court did not have a problem with the execution and he did not have a problem with executing others. I do not see the problem.
I blame the whole thing on the English who will not sell us the drug to kill them faster. He was out cold. My mother took months of excruciating pain to die, this guy was knocked out cold. I do not see it as a botched execution. He was lawfully executed. Arizona may have to go back to hanging or the firing squad.
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2014/0724/Arizona-execution-takes-two-hours-how-ethics-of-death-penalty-are-changing-video “The immediate impact of the botched executions have been reviews and calls for deeper study by states.
The series of botched executions also brought back the specter of more primitive, but potentially more effective and ethical, ways of executing Americans, including firing squads. Missouri, for one, is considering bringing back the gas chamber to replace lethal injection.
Woods’ lawyer, Dale Baich, said the ordeal supports banning the US death penalty altogether, a notion supported by Rob Freer, a human rights researcher with Amnesty International.
“How many more times do officials need to be reminded of the myth of the ‘humane execution’ before they give up on their experiment with judicial killing?” Mr. Freer said in an interview with Reuters.”
While I am against the death penalty in most cases, it is hard to feel any sympathy for this guy. If they wish to use death penalty, they need to find a better way to do this obviously. Firing squad or hanging is the old legal method and should be used.
oops! thought
bettykath Yes, and my point was even McCain though this was torture.
SWM, To clarify (I had to read the article) You (and I) believe the death penalty needs to be abolished. Sen. McCain does not.
Death row lawyers are doing their best to keep their clients from being subjects of drug experiments. Some win, some lose. Clearly, Wood’s attorneys lost.
http://www.politico.com/story/2014/07/john-mccain-arizona-execution-109350.html The senator from Arizona said it amounted to “torture”. The death penalty needs to be abolished.
Well, if he was knocked out the whole time, what difference did it make??? He was no more aware than someone under anesthesia.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter