This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/24/arizona-inmate-fate-court-emergency-motion-botched-exeuction
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| 'Judge, I just learned that the IV team leader has confirmed Mr Wood’s death' | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The fate of a convicted killer was discussed in an extraordinary telephone court session while he fought for breath in an Arizona execution chamber, according to a transcript of the hearing released on Thursday. | The fate of a convicted killer was discussed in an extraordinary telephone court session while he fought for breath in an Arizona execution chamber, according to a transcript of the hearing released on Thursday. |
| Lawyers for Joseph Wood on Wednesday called for an independent inquiry into his drawn-out death, which lasted for so long that they filed a motion for an emergency stay of execution some 90 minutes into the botched procedure. | Lawyers for Joseph Wood on Wednesday called for an independent inquiry into his drawn-out death, which lasted for so long that they filed a motion for an emergency stay of execution some 90 minutes into the botched procedure. |
| While they tried to persuade a judge to stop the execution, Wood was declared dead, after nearly two hours during which witnesses said he repeatedly gasped for breath. | While they tried to persuade a judge to stop the execution, Wood was declared dead, after nearly two hours during which witnesses said he repeatedly gasped for breath. |
| The telephone call gives an insight into the sense of urgency, uncertainty and confusion surrounding Wood’s physical state and the appropriate official response as the execution dragged on. Robin Konrad, one of Wood’s legal team, attempted to convince Neil Wake, an Arizona district judge, to halt the execution and order prison officials to start lifesaving techniques. | The telephone call gives an insight into the sense of urgency, uncertainty and confusion surrounding Wood’s physical state and the appropriate official response as the execution dragged on. Robin Konrad, one of Wood’s legal team, attempted to convince Neil Wake, an Arizona district judge, to halt the execution and order prison officials to start lifesaving techniques. |
| “Mr Wood’s execution started at 1.52. He was being sedated at 1.57. Since that time he has been gasping, snorting, and unable to breathe and not dying. And we’re asking – our motion asks for you to issue an emergency stay and order the Department of Corrections to start lifesaving techniques as required under their protocol,” Konrad told the judge. | “Mr Wood’s execution started at 1.52. He was being sedated at 1.57. Since that time he has been gasping, snorting, and unable to breathe and not dying. And we’re asking – our motion asks for you to issue an emergency stay and order the Department of Corrections to start lifesaving techniques as required under their protocol,” Konrad told the judge. |
| Jeffrey Zick of the Arizona attorney general’s office was on the call and tried to assure the judge that Wood was unconscious: “The individual who does the consciousness check determined, medically determined that Mr Wood was unconscious; that his mouth was open; that at some point during the – when the drugs were given, an involuntary reaction or a snoring-type reaction was taking place; that it had been ongoing. A second consciousness check was given. He is unconscious.” | Jeffrey Zick of the Arizona attorney general’s office was on the call and tried to assure the judge that Wood was unconscious: “The individual who does the consciousness check determined, medically determined that Mr Wood was unconscious; that his mouth was open; that at some point during the – when the drugs were given, an involuntary reaction or a snoring-type reaction was taking place; that it had been ongoing. A second consciousness check was given. He is unconscious.” |
| However, when Zick claimed he was told that Wood “is effectively brain dead … the brain stem is working but there is no brain activity”, the judge questioned how he could draw such a conclusion, given that there were no leads or probes connected to Wood’s head. | However, when Zick claimed he was told that Wood “is effectively brain dead … the brain stem is working but there is no brain activity”, the judge questioned how he could draw such a conclusion, given that there were no leads or probes connected to Wood’s head. |
| Arizona’s execution protocol calls for trained medical personnel – who are not involved with the execution process – to be available nearby to respond to any medical emergency before the start of the execution, while any decision about whether to continue with the process if it is going awry is up to the director of the state department of corrections. | Arizona’s execution protocol calls for trained medical personnel – who are not involved with the execution process – to be available nearby to respond to any medical emergency before the start of the execution, while any decision about whether to continue with the process if it is going awry is up to the director of the state department of corrections. |
| After debating any possible role of the Arizona governor, judge Wake says he is concerned that “depending on the accuracy of the information Mr Zick has passed on that suspending the execution may do more harm than good” and that his “principal focus here is on the chance of pain” given the US constitution’s prohibition of “cruel and unusual punishment”. | After debating any possible role of the Arizona governor, judge Wake says he is concerned that “depending on the accuracy of the information Mr Zick has passed on that suspending the execution may do more harm than good” and that his “principal focus here is on the chance of pain” given the US constitution’s prohibition of “cruel and unusual punishment”. |
| As discussions continue, Zick tells the judge: “Wait. I just – I’m sorry, Judge … I just learned that the IV team leader has confirmed Mr Wood’s death.” | As discussions continue, Zick tells the judge: “Wait. I just – I’m sorry, Judge … I just learned that the IV team leader has confirmed Mr Wood’s death.” |
| It seems unlikely that Wake would have halted the execution in any case. After hearing the news of Wood’s death, the judge said he wanted to “finish my thought” anyway, saying that in his judgment “there was not a serious prospect of pain and that terminating the execution did not have prospect of eliminating pain.” | It seems unlikely that Wake would have halted the execution in any case. After hearing the news of Wood’s death, the judge said he wanted to “finish my thought” anyway, saying that in his judgment “there was not a serious prospect of pain and that terminating the execution did not have prospect of eliminating pain.” |
| However, he told Konrad: “I am not finding that there was not pain before. I'm not finding that at all… That is a matter that may come before the Court in plenary matter soon.” | |
| Konrad questions any definitive assertion that Wood was not suffering during the execution. “It is premature to make that statement without having the necessary information,” she told the Guardian. “We do not know anything about the drugs, we do not know the qualifications of the medical team who were making these determinations.“There was no medical equipment hooked up in order to make a determination that he was brain dead … There’s no indication that they attempted to do any lifesaving measures and from the transcript it indicates they were pushing more drugs into the system. We don’t know when they attempted, how many times they attempted to do that.”This is the third controversial prolonged execution which used the sedative midazolam this year, after Dennis McGuire in Ohio in January and Clayton Lockett in Oklahoma in April.While Wood was on the gurney, Konrad was in her office in Phoenix, on standby in case she heard from members of Wood’s legal team at the execution that there was a problem.“As soon as we got that information we immediately filed emergency motions in several different courts and judge Wake with the federal district court was the first judge we were able to get on the phone.” | |
| The debate over drug secrecy | The debate over drug secrecy |
| Wood’s death has reignited controversies about state secrecy and the suitability of drugs used to execute prisoners. It was the third time this year that a lethal injection procedure has gone wrong, following problems in Ohio and Oklahoma. | Wood’s death has reignited controversies about state secrecy and the suitability of drugs used to execute prisoners. It was the third time this year that a lethal injection procedure has gone wrong, following problems in Ohio and Oklahoma. |
| Wood was put to death using an experimental combination of midazolam and hydromorphone, the same drugs used to kill McGuire in Ohio in January. He took 26 minutes to die, and witnesses said he gasped for air and snorted loudly. | Wood was put to death using an experimental combination of midazolam and hydromorphone, the same drugs used to kill McGuire in Ohio in January. He took 26 minutes to die, and witnesses said he gasped for air and snorted loudly. |
| Midazolam, meant to act as a sedative, was also used by Oklahoma in April. Officials had trouble administering the drugs into a vein and Lockett writhed on the gurney before dying of an apparent heart attack after 43 minutes. | Midazolam, meant to act as a sedative, was also used by Oklahoma in April. Officials had trouble administering the drugs into a vein and Lockett writhed on the gurney before dying of an apparent heart attack after 43 minutes. |
| “We were concerned that the mixture of midazolam and hydromorphone had only been used in one prior execution and that did not turn out well, so we were very concerned about that and that’s why we asked as one of our requests: how did the state come up with the formula that it was using?” Baich said. | “We were concerned that the mixture of midazolam and hydromorphone had only been used in one prior execution and that did not turn out well, so we were very concerned about that and that’s why we asked as one of our requests: how did the state come up with the formula that it was using?” Baich said. |
| The botched executions followed a European-led boycott of the US death penalty that has blocked key drugs used in executions from reaching departments of correction. As supplies have run short, and expired, states have resorted to untried improvisations while insisting on hiding the identities of their suppliers in order to keep supply lines open. | The botched executions followed a European-led boycott of the US death penalty that has blocked key drugs used in executions from reaching departments of correction. As supplies have run short, and expired, states have resorted to untried improvisations while insisting on hiding the identities of their suppliers in order to keep supply lines open. |
| Baich said Arizona prison officials told Wood’s lawyers that the execution would be carried out using higher dosages than Ohio employed in McGuire’s death, but refused to disclose the source of the drugs. | Baich said Arizona prison officials told Wood’s lawyers that the execution would be carried out using higher dosages than Ohio employed in McGuire’s death, but refused to disclose the source of the drugs. |
| “We asked for that information. We were stonewalled, we went to court, and a federal appeals court ordered the department of corrections to turn that information over to us [but] the US supreme court vacated that order,” Baich said. | “We asked for that information. We were stonewalled, we went to court, and a federal appeals court ordered the department of corrections to turn that information over to us [but] the US supreme court vacated that order,” Baich said. |
| Wood, 55, was pronounced dead at 3.49pm local time, one hour and 57 minutes after the start of the procedure. “The courts have ordered that all evidence be preserved including blood and tissue samples as well as labels and any residual drugs that remain,” Baich said. | Wood, 55, was pronounced dead at 3.49pm local time, one hour and 57 minutes after the start of the procedure. “The courts have ordered that all evidence be preserved including blood and tissue samples as well as labels and any residual drugs that remain,” Baich said. |
| Jan Brewer, the Arizona governor, said she was concerned by the length of the execution and ordered Arizona prison officials to conduct a review, but insisted the execution was lawful. | Jan Brewer, the Arizona governor, said she was concerned by the length of the execution and ordered Arizona prison officials to conduct a review, but insisted the execution was lawful. |
| She said in a statement: “I am concerned by the length of time it took for the administered drug protocol to complete the lawful execution of the convicted double murderer, Joseph Wood. While justice was carried out today, I directed the department of corrections to conduct a full review of the process. | She said in a statement: “I am concerned by the length of time it took for the administered drug protocol to complete the lawful execution of the convicted double murderer, Joseph Wood. While justice was carried out today, I directed the department of corrections to conduct a full review of the process. |
| “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.” | “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.” |
| Wood was executed for shooting to death Debra Dietz, his former girlfriend, and her father, Eugene Dietz, in Tucson in 1989. | Wood was executed for shooting to death Debra Dietz, his former girlfriend, and her father, Eugene Dietz, in Tucson in 1989. |
| After the execution, Debra Dietz's sister told the Associated Press: “What I saw today with him being executed, it is nothing compared to what happened on August 7, 1989,” Jeanne Brown said. “What's excruciating is seeing your father lying there in a pool of blood, seeing your sister lying in a pool of blood.” | After the execution, Debra Dietz's sister told the Associated Press: “What I saw today with him being executed, it is nothing compared to what happened on August 7, 1989,” Jeanne Brown said. “What's excruciating is seeing your father lying there in a pool of blood, seeing your sister lying in a pool of blood.” |
| Charles Ryan, director of Arizona’s department of corrections, said in a statement: “Once the inmate was sedated, other than sonorous respiration, or snoring, he did not grimace or make any further movement. Throughout this execution, I conferred and collaborated with our IV team members and was assured unequivocally that the inmate was comatose and never in pain or distress.” | Charles Ryan, director of Arizona’s department of corrections, said in a statement: “Once the inmate was sedated, other than sonorous respiration, or snoring, he did not grimace or make any further movement. Throughout this execution, I conferred and collaborated with our IV team members and was assured unequivocally that the inmate was comatose and never in pain or distress.” |
| Arizona’s previous execution, when Robert Jones was given a lethal injection of the barbiturate pentobarbital last October, took 17 minutes from administration of the dose to the time he was pronounced dead. | Arizona’s previous execution, when Robert Jones was given a lethal injection of the barbiturate pentobarbital last October, took 17 minutes from administration of the dose to the time he was pronounced dead. |