Joseph Clark. Botched Execution

The execution of Joseph Lewis Clark, age 57, took nearly 90 minutes, making it one of the longest lethal injection executions in U.S history.

The execution team struggled for 25 minutes to insert an intravenous line for the lethal injection, only to have Mr. Clark complain, "It's not working. It's not working" when the lethal chemicals began flowing. Prison officials then drew curtains and attempted to re-establish the intravenous line, while Mr. Clark could be heard "moaning and groaning" by witnesses. A new IV was established, the curtains were re-opened, and the drug infusion began again. Mr. Clark raised his head several times and breathed deeply before becoming still.

Condemned inmate asked prison staff to end his life
A condemned inmate asked prison officials to find another way to execute him as they struggled to administer a lethal injection after an intravenous line failed, prison records show.

"Can you just give me something by mouth to end this?" convicted killer Joseph Clark asked during the 90-minute delay, according to accounts written by members of the execution team and obtained by The Associated Press.

The May 2 execution was plagued with problems from the beginning, when team members struggled for several minutes to find a vein. After inserting a shunt in Clark's arm, the vein collapsed, leading Clark to push himself up and say, "It don't work."

The team then attached a shunt to Clark's other arm but apparently tried to administer the lethal drugs through the first shunt by mistake, the reports said.

A team member noticed the error when Clark continued to move his left foot, said prisons spokeswoman Andrea Dean.

Clark, 57, was executed after officials switched the drugs to the proper line.

The execution happened amid a growing debate about lethal injection, with many death row inmates claiming their deaths could constitute cruel and unusual punishment, either because of the drugs or because the procedure is not handled by specially trained medical personnel.

The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction is reviewing the execution but does not believe its procedures were flawed.

"The vein simply collapsed - that wasn't a flaw in the process," Dean said.

Attorney Alan Konop, who represents Clark's family, said something is "drastically wrong" with the prison's procedures. "We hope that this leads to an honest evaluation and discussion of these problems," he said.

The reports of the execution team do not include the prison employees'names.

The team appeared to anticipate problems from the start, with one member describing that Clark's veins "were not going to be easy to find."

Clark was condemned for killing David Manning to get money for drugs. He also was sentenced to life in prison for killing a store clerk the day before Manning's death as part of a series of robberies.

ON THE NET -- Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction:
http://www.drc.state.oh.us/

(source: Associated Press)

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Lethal injection, recent Ohio execution discussed on 'Editors'


The controversy about lethal injection - including whether trained medical
personnel, such as doctors, should be involved and if the process is a
humane way to kill a condemned inmate - is the topic on The Editors this
week.

"My contention has always been that lethal injection is a medical charade,
meaning it's designed to simulate a medical procedure but it falls far
short," Dr. Jonathan Groner, an associate professor of surgery at Ohio
State University, said during a taping of the television program.

Dr. Groner said Joseph Lewis Clark was "clearly being tortured to death"
when it took Ohio nearly 90 minutes to execute him May 2 for the fatal
shooting of David Manning during a robbery of a gas station in 1984.

Toledo attorney Richard Kerger, who has represented death row inmates and
witnessed a client's electric chair execution in Alabama, said the Clark
case indicates "we have clear and undisputed evidence [execution] is cruel
and unusual."

Clark, 57, was the 21st man to be executed in Ohio and the first from
Lucas County after Ohio resumed use of the death penalty in 1999.

He was declared dead 86 minutes after the official start of his execution,
a process that typically takes about 10 minutes.

Prison personnel worked for 25 minutes to find a usable vein; Clark's
veins were scarred after years of intravenous drug use. After the process
began, Clark five times said, "It don't work."

The execution team, a few of whom have some medical technician training,
closed a curtain between Clark and the witnesses.

When it reopened, Clark appeared to have fallen asleep. He then was killed
by injection, which involves three drugs - the first to sedate, the second
to stop breathing, and the third to stop the heart.

According to state prison records obtained by the Associated Press, Clark
asked prison staff to find another way to kill him.

"Can you just give me something by mouth to end this?" Clark asked members
of the execution team as they struggled to find a way to insert the
intravenous line.

After finally attaching a shunt to Clark's right arm, the execution team
apparently tried to administer the lethal drugs through the original IV
line by mistake, according to written accounts of the execution.

A member of the execution team said he realized a problem "upon noticing
the wrong reaction by inmate Clark again," the member's statement said.

"I notice I had picked up the wrong line. Once I switched to proper IV
line execution was completed successfully."

Dr. Groner and Mr. Kerger also discuss other forms of execution, such as
the guillotine and the firing squad.

The Editors will be broadcast at 9 tonight on WGTE-TV, Channel 30, and at
12:30 p.m. Sunday on WBGU, Channel 27.

(source: Toledo Blade)