Lethal injection comes under fire in Fla., Calif.

updated 7:01 p.m. ET Dec. 15, 2006

OCALA, Fla. - Lethal injection, the  preferred method of execution in the U.S., came under fire in two states Friday, with a federal judge in California saying the capital punishment method is unconstitutional and Florida officials pledging to re-examine the system there following a botched execution earlier this week.

In Florida, Gov. Jeb Bush suspended all executions in the state after a medical examiner said that prison officials improperly inserted needles in the arm of Angel Nieves Diaz on Wednesday.  Because of the error, it took 34 minutes — twice as long as usual — and required a rare second dose of lethal chemicals to kill the convicted murderer, the examiner said.

In the California case, a federal judge imposed a moratorium on executions and declared that the state’s method of lethal injection violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel ruled in San Jose that California’s “implementation of lethal injection is broken.” But he said: “It can be fixed.”

Lethal injection is the preferred execution method in 37 states, and is often cast  by supporters as the most humane method of capital punishment. But courts are increasingly challenging that assumption. Last month, a federal judge declared unconstitutional Missouri’s injection method, which is similar to California’s.

The controversy appeared sure to build in the wake of Diaz’s execution.

Needles reportedly improperly inserted
Florida’s medical examiner, Dr. William Hamilton, said Friday that the lengthy procedure was necessary because the needles that deliver the deadly drugs were pushed through his veins and into the flesh in his arms. The chemicals are supposed to go into the veins.

AP file Angel Nieves Diaz was put to death Wednesday during an execution process that lasted 34 minutes.

Hamilton, who performed the autopsy, 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 other tests may take several weeks.

Bush created a commission to examine the state’s lethal injection process in light of Diaz’s case, and he signed an executive order halting the signing of any more death warrants until the panel completes its final report by March 1.

The order did not have any immediate effect, because no executions were scheduled before Bush leaves office on Jan. 2. His successor, fellow Republican Charlie Crist, said he also supports the moratorium.

Bush said he wants to ensure the process does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment, as some death penalty foes argued after Diaz’s execution. Florida has 374 people on death row; it has carried out four executions this year.

Diaz, 55, was put to death for murdering the manager of a Miami topless bar during a holdup in 1979.

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.

Inmate grimaced, continued to move
Executions in Florida normally take no more than about 15 minutes, with the inmate rendered unconscious and motionless within three to five minutes. But Diaz appeared to be moving 24 minutes after the first injection, grimacing, blinking, licking his lips, blowing and appearing to mouth words.

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