His execution was called off after the vein used to insert the drugs collapsed and he died of a heart attack shortly afterward.
This episode was also the second case this year where “apparent extreme suffering” stemmed from a lethal injection in the U.S., Colville said, adding that this only reinforces the argument that the U.S. should abolish capital punishment. The United Nations opposes the death penalty.
Colville cited the execution of inmate Dennis McGuire in Ohio earlier this year. McGuire — convicted of raping and murdering a pregnant woman — spent several minutes snorting and gasping for air during his execution, which lasted for nearly half an hour.
States have been struggling to find the drugs to carry out lethal injections, with two key shortages stemming from objections made by European companies or officials.
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