Florida Executions Suspended

Florida governor Jeb Bush halted all executions in the state after a medical examiner claimed prison officials failed to properly insert the needles when a death row inmate was put to death through lethal injection last month.

Cruel and Unusual Punishment

According to the medical examiner, Dr. William Hamilton, the execution of 55-year-old Angel Nieves Diaz took more than 30 minutes—double the usual time—and required another round of the lethal injection drugs because the needles went straight through his veins and into his flesh. The drugs are supposed to be injected into the veins.

Furthermore, Diaz—who was put to death for murder—remained conscious for up to 24 minutes after the first dose of chemicals was injected, blinking, grimacing, and mouthing words. Normally, inmates are motionless and unconscious within the first five minutes of the procedure.

“This is a complete negligence on the part of the state,” said the inmate’s attorney Suzanne Myers Keffler. “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.”

Lethal Injection Commission

As a result of Diaz’s case, Bush formed a commission that will evaluate Florida’s lethal injection process. Currently, all death warrants in the state have been suspended until the panel gives its final report in March 2007.

According to spokesman for the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, David Elliot, “Florida has certainly deservedly earned a reputation for being a state that conducts botched executions, whether its electrocution or lethal injection. We just think the Florida death penalty system is broken from start to finish.”

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