Man Excuted, sits up minutes later and says, "Its Not Working"

[DigiQ8]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Reuters) -- A double murderer was put to death in Ohio Tuesday but not until after one of his veins collapsed, causing the condemned man to sit up and tell his executioners, "It's not working," officials said.

The Ohio Department of Corrections said Joseph Clark, 57, was pronounced dead at 11:26 a.m. ET following an injection of lethal chemicals at the Southern Ohio Correctional Institution in Lucasville.

Spokeswoman Andrea Dean said the execution was delayed about 90 minutes because technicians had trouble initially finding a site in Clark's arm for the intravenous line carrying the chemicals.

Then shortly after the poisons were supposed to have been pumping into his body, she said, he sat up saying, "It's not working. It's not working."

Officials determined that a vein had collapsed. Curtains were closed to block witnesses' view until technicians found a vein in his other arm. They were then parted to reveal him dying, witnesses said.

Ohio has used lethal injection repeatedly without similar problems, but this method of execution, used in all but one of the 38 states that impose capital punishment, is under legal attack.

The U.S. Supreme Court has a challenge before it from Florida claiming that it causes undue pain, while the matter is also before a court in California.

The method involves three separate drugs: the first renders the victim unconscious, the second stops all muscle movement except the heart and the third stops the heart, causing death.

Clark was given a meal of his request Monday, consisting of shrimp, steak, chicken wings, fries, rolls with butter, cherry pie and a soft drink.

Just before the execution process started the first time Clark made a final statement apologizing to his victims' families and saying "Today my life is being taken because of drugs. If you live by the sword you die by the sword."

On January 13, 1984, Clark shot Marine reservist and father of two David Manning and stole $65 from the gas station where Manning was working.

The murder came during an eight-day crime spree in which Clark also murdered another man, student Donald Harris, and wounded a third man during an attempted robbery.

Harris was filling in for a friend at a convenience store when Clark entered and demanded the contents of the store's safe. Harris said he did not know the safe's combination, and was shot in the back of the head.

Clark later attempted to rob a man at an automated teller machine, the two struggled, and the victim was wounded twice. A witness saw the attack and noted the license plate number on Clark's car.

After he was arrested, Clark tried to hang himself in his jail cell, and confessed to the murders while recovering in a hospital. He was sentenced to death for Manning's murder.

Clark said he robbed to support a drug habit.

"Neither the parole board nor I are persuaded by Mr. Clark's attempt to explain away Mr. Manning's murder," Gov. Robert Taft said in refusing clemency last week.

Taft said Clark's "well established prior criminal conduct, both as a juvenile and as an adult, signifies a propensity for violent behavior."

Clark was the 21st person to be executed in Ohio since the state resumed carrying out the death penalty in 1999, and the 1,021st inmate executed in the United States since capital punishment resumed in 1976.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/05/02/lethal.injection.reut/index.html


would have been better if he said "is that all you can do bitchs !"

 

[Loc-Dog]

CORRECTION!

I belive he was sentenced to ONE lethal injection. Not TWO. This is an outrage. After the first shot, he had already recived his punishment. The second shot was just murder.

Terrible.

 

[Axyon]

Now if that isn't an opportunity of a lifetime, I don't know what is. Just keep very, very still and you're in the clear!

 

[short recoil]

Lol yeah, he should have been let free.

"well done mate, you are hardcore"

If they mate mulitple attempts at killing someone and cannot it shows they are inferior to the prisoner.

 

[Jangle]

CORRECTION!

I belive he was sentenced to ONE lethal injection. Not TWO. This is an outrage. After the first shot, he had already recived his punishment. The second shot was just murder.

Terrible.

He was sentenced to death...

 

[Da-Muffin-Man]

CORRECTION!

I belive he was sentenced to ONE lethal injection. Not TWO. This is an outrage. After the first shot, he had already recived his punishment. The second shot was just murder.

Terrible.

Dont they sentence people to "Death by lethal injection?" In which case they can inject him as many times as they need to.

 

[Remus]

Wouldn't that be something, if the guy survives the lethal injection they just let him go .

 

[short recoil]

If i'm ever scentenced to death i could argue that by definition i am already dead and therefore they cannot attempt to kill me.

If that fails i'd absolutley ****ing freak out and somehow break free, the anger flowing through me would be so much they wouldn't be able to sedate me or some near me.

 

[Llama]

Dont be so silly. His first injection wasnt a lethal injection, because it didnt kill him. So, actually, he only had one lethal injection. PLus, he was sentenced to death, and one injection would be murder by your logic anyway.

(2nd poster)

 

[Solaris]

Should have just kept quiet.

 

[Harryz]

There is no sarcasm in Loc-Dog post. None at all.

 

[Llama]

I dont see what the problem is. A method of execution not "humane" enough? Wow, whos going to be effected except the person whos going to end up dead anyway?

 

[Solaris]

I dont see what the problem is. A method of execution not "humane" enough? Wow, whos going to be effected except the person whos going to end up dead anyway?

So tortures okay as long as they end up dead?
The fool should have stayed quiet

 

[Mutley]

Reminded me of Green Mile, when they didn't put the sponge on his head.

 

[Llama]

So tortures okay as long as they end up dead?
The fool should have stayed quiet

Torture isnt execution.

 

[Solaris]

Torture isnt execution.

It is if you torture them to death.

 

[Remus]

I dont see what the problem is. A method of execution not "humane" enough? Wow, whos going to be effected except the person whos going to end up dead anyway?

Execution isn't humane to begin with so how the heck do they decide what method of execution is "humane" or not. The humane thing to do would've been to let him kill himself.

 

[Llama]

Yeah but I didnt say "lolz lets totally turture them and make them scream in agony!!!11"
If an execution isnt totally painless then tough, but I abhore torturing to death.
Shoot someone once to execute = Okay. Shooting someone in the leg until they die of shock / pain / blood loss = Not okay.
See the difference?

 

[Remus]

"lolz lets totally turture them and make them scream in agony!!!11"

I'm sure they think that

 

[Ravioli]

omfg hes so stuid, he should have pretended to be dead, and when they transport his body for some shit he should have escaped...STUPID ****!!

SERIOUSLY, i would be like "hm...im alive...but they dont know that......hm...should i tell them that im alive...no..noo, then they will try again...il just lay here and wait for the correct moment to escape...bitchesss"

 

[Remus]

omfg hes so stuid, he should have pretended to be dead, and when they transport his body for some shit he should have escaped...STUPID ****!!

SERIOUSLY, i would be like "hm...im alive...but they dont know that......hm...should i tell them that im alive...no..noo, then they will try again...il just lay here and wait for the correct moment to escape...bitchesss"

They monitor his pulse and brain activity so they would've know that he was still alive.

 

[Solaris]

They monitor his pulse and brain activity so they would've know that he was still alive.

They pronounced him dead.

If an execution isnt totally painless then tough

It must be extremely distressing though, if your not unconcious.

 

[Jangle]

How could it not be distressing?

 

[spookymooky]

I recall hearing that once, within the past couple hundred years, they repeatedly tried to hang this man, but every time the knot would come undone, eventually they gave up, gave the guy a check, and let him go.

 

[Remus]

They pronounced him dead.

then they are idiots and they should've let him go

 

[RakuraiTenjin]

It is if you torture them to death.

LOL. Zing!

 

[Muffin Man]

he had superior genes, HURRY GET TO HIS DECAYING TESTICLES AND GET SOME SUPERIOR SPERM !

 

[MiccyNarc]

That's like necrophilia. Creeepy.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

Execution isn't humane to begin with so how the heck do they decide what method of execution is "humane" or not. The humane thing to do would've been to let him kill himself.

<3 Redneck

 

[EvilFoxBat]

OK thats freaky he killed those people the day I was born

 

[Loc-Dog]

There is no sarcasm in Loc-Dog post. None at all.

Shut the **** up. Hows that for sarcasm?:thumbs:

 

[madog]

Ya he should have just stayed quiet. Then he could jump out of his coffin and get away. Wouldn't that make quite a story? Man returns from death and escapes his death penalty. That would be so awesome. Even if he did kill two people while he was going crazy I still give him some Kudos for surviving that shot.

 

[spookymooky]

I think I might rather take the lethal injection than allow myself to be buried alive.

 

[Naudian]

Uh...a vein collapsed? What excactly does that mean? A valve stopped working or what?
And I would think the injection would kill him eventually if he started moving around anyway, right?

Still that's pretty funny...in a not so 'haha' kind of way :|

 

[madog]

Would if he comes back again! The executers would be like wtf hax!

 

[RakuraiTenjin]

Uh...a vein collapsed? What excactly does that mean? A valve stopped working or what?

No it means it stopped having blood flow through it. Like when you turn off your hose and it goes flat? Except a vein instead of hose.

And I would think the injection would kill him eventually if he started moving around anyway, right?

maybe if he jumping jacked it all the way to his heart.

 

[Revisedsoul]

they didnt say they pronouced him dead after the first time, it just says they pernouced him dead, after complication

 

[15357]

You don't pronounce a person dead until you check the vitals, what were they thinking?

 

[A True Canadian]

Well if he was falsely pronounced dead by the first injection, then doesn't anyone else find it ironically funny that he was pronounced dead a second time by the Ohio Department of Corrections?


If I realized the injection wasn't working, I'd try and stay quiet too. It'd be hard trying to keep a straight face and a limp body for so long though.

 

[YourMom]

CORRECTION!

I belive he was sentenced to ONE lethal injection. Not TWO. This is an outrage. After the first shot, he had already recived his punishment. The second shot was just murder.

Terrible.

The first injection wasn't lethal.