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Florida governor halts executions Florida governor halts executions
(10 minutes later)
Florida Governor Jeb Bush has halted executions in the US state after an inmate took twice as long to die by lethal injection.Florida Governor Jeb Bush has halted executions in the US state after an inmate took twice as long to die by lethal injection.
Mr Bush said he needed to be sure that the method of death did not constitute "cruel and unusual punishment".Mr Bush said he needed to be sure that the method of death did not constitute "cruel and unusual punishment".
The move came after a man convicted of murder, Angel Diaz, took 34 minutes to die and was given a second lethal dose.The move came after a man convicted of murder, Angel Diaz, took 34 minutes to die and was given a second lethal dose.
In California, a judge has ruled death by lethal injection violates a state ban on cruel and unusual punishment.In California, a judge has ruled death by lethal injection violates a state ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
The judge ruled California's "implementation of lethal injection is broken", but said "it can be fixed".The judge ruled California's "implementation of lethal injection is broken", but said "it can be fixed".
Lethal injection is the preferred method of execution in 37 US states.Lethal injection is the preferred method of execution in 37 US states.
Drawn-out deathDrawn-out death
The Florida decision came after the drawn-out death by lethal injection of Puerto Rican-born Diaz on Wednesday. Mr Bush has appointed a panel to look into the practice and evaluate whether it breaches the state's ban as an unnecessarily cruel mode of death, as argued by opponents of the death penalty.
US METHODS OF EXECUTION Lethal injection: Authorised in 37 statesElectrocution: In 10 states (sole method in Nebraska)Gas chamber: In five states (all of which have lethal injection as alternative)Hanging: Only in New Hampshire and WashingtonFiring squad: In Idaho and OklahomaSource: DPIC
He has said no more death warrants will be signed until the commission completes its final report in March.
The move came after the drawn-out death by lethal injection of Puerto Rican-born Diaz on Wednesday.
Diaz was sentenced to death for the 1979 murder of a Miami strip club manager.Diaz was sentenced to death for the 1979 murder of a Miami strip club manager.
His death took more than twice the usual time and needed a second dose of the lethal chemicals as the needles were injected straight through his veins and into the flesh of his arms. Witnesses said his death took more than twice the usual time - 34 minutes rather than the usual 15.
The coroner found large chemical burns on both arms. He needed a second dose of the lethal chemicals as the needles were injected straight through his veins and into the flesh of his arms.
There were also reports that 55-year-old Diaz continued to move and mouth words more than 20 minutes after the initial dose. Following the autopsy, the medical examiner concluded the injections had been wrongly administered.
Anti-death penalty activists say lethal injections - introduced in Florida and other states as a replacement for the electric chair and other methods of execution - are cruel and should not be considered a safe substitute. He was found to have large chemical burns on both arms and his lawyer reported that the 55-year-old continued to move and mouth words more than 20 minutes after the initial dose.
Inmates are supposed to be rendered unconscious by the chemicals within three to five minutes.
Anti-death penalty activists say lethal injections - introduced in Florida and other states as a replacement for the electric chair and other methods of execution - are just as cruel and should not be considered a more humane substitute.
But the BBC's Emilio San Pedro, in Miami, says that it is too soon to interpret the decisions as a sign that support for the death penalty is waning in the US.
Executions, he says, continue to be seen as the best deterrent of violent crime.