OCALA, Florida — Gov. Jeb Bush has suspended all executions in Florida on Friday after a medical examiner says the lethal injection of a convicted killer was botched.
The execution of a convicted killer Angel Nieves Diaz took 34 minutes — twice as long as normal — because officials botched the insertion of the needles that delivered the lethal chemicals, a medical examiner said.
Bush responded to the findings by halting the signing of more death warrants until a commission he created to examine the state's lethal injection process completes its final report by March 1.
Dr. William Hamilton, who performed the autopsy, said the needles pierced Diaz's veins and then went into soft tissue in his arms. The lethal chemicals are supposed to go directly into the veins.
Hamilton refused to say whether he thought Diaz died a painful death.
"I am going to defer answers about pain and suffering until the autopsy is complete," he said. He said the results were preliminary and toxicology tests and other tests may take several weeks.
Diaz, 55, was put to death Wednesday for murdering of the manager of a Miami topless bar during a holdup in 1979. The condemned man not only took 34 minutes to die, but also needed a rare second dose of the lethal chemicals.
The medical examiner's findings contradicted the explanation given by prison officials, who said Diaz needed the second dose because liver disease caused him to metabolize the lethal drugs more slowly.
Hamilton said that although there were records that Diaz had hepatitis, his liver appeared normal.
So what now? Is Florida going to look for a less painless, more humane way to kill someone? Diaz was a convicted murderer. It took him 34 minutes to die...how long did it take his victim to die? How long has his victim's family suffered? Lets not rush to feel sorry for this murderer! There are others that deserve our sympathy more!
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