8 Needles Later, FL Inmate Pronounced Dead

By Jeralyn, Section Death Penalty
Posted on Wed Aug 19, 2009 at 08:54:55 PM EST
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John Richard Marek was executed tonight in Florida as Gov. Charlie Christ and his staff monitored events from the Governor's office. 8 needles later, Mr. Marek was dead.

Gov. Christ allowed the AP to observe him for the 50 minutes before the execution, as he sat at his desk, reviewed the case file and had his staff check for any last minute stays with three courts.

6:05, "The needle has been inserted into the inmate's left arm."
- 6:06, "The inmate continues to remain calm."
- 6:09, "The needle has now been inserted in the inmate's right arm."
- 6:11, "The sheet that covers the inmate is now being placed over him."

[More...]

At 6:19, the medical team signed the final paperwork that the lethal injections could begin. Crist asked if McCollum was reporting any last minute stays. Atkinson told him no. "Is there anything from the Supreme Court?" Crist asked. Again, the answer was no.

"You may carry out the sentence," Crist said.

Then, the lethal injections began. ....Crist was updated at the start and finish of all eight. Atkinson relayed the details to McCollum. One minute later Reddish said Marek appeared unconscious.

At 6:24, three injections were complete and doctors checked to make sure Marek was unconscious. Twelve minutes later, the execution was over.

How gruesome, unnecessary and barbaric.

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8 Needles Later, FL Inmate Pronounced Dead | 15 comments (15 topical)

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I get it (5.00 / 1) (#8)
by jbindc on Thu Aug 20, 2009 at 07:37:27 AM EST

I get the arguments against the death penalty, but are we really arguing what the headline says about about "8 needles" - implying that it is cruel and unusual punishment? Sorry - I've had dental work where I had to get 12 needles, and while it didn't kill me, the concept of 8 needles doesn't come close to "Cruel and unusual."

I think she summed it up (5.00 / 1) (#9)
by Rojas on Thu Aug 20, 2009 at 08:02:54 AM EST

gruesome, unnecessary and barbaric


Guess (5.00 / 1) (#10)
by jbindc on Thu Aug 20, 2009 at 08:19:10 AM EST

I'll sue my dentist - 12 needles in one appointment, 8 the next week when they did the other side.

Think I have an 8th Amendment claim?


C'mon jb... (5.00 / 1) (#13)
by kdog on Thu Aug 20, 2009 at 11:17:40 AM EST

you chose to sit in that dentist chair, and those needles were for the purpose of healing or improving your dental health...or for your comfort, if any were novacaine.

Your analogy doesn't work my friend...not even close.

Any execution is barbaric...if I was on death row, I'd take the guillotine or firing squad over this lethal ejection sh*t...the waiting is the real cruel and unusual torture of it, and lethal injections seem to get botched more often than not.

I tend to think lethal injection makes it easier for the witnesses because there is no blood, it ain't any easier on the condemned.


I said (none / 0) (#14)
by jbindc on Thu Aug 20, 2009 at 12:30:01 PM EST

I wasn't arguing the merits of the death penalty as a whole, but the point that sticking 8 needles in someone is "cruel and unusual".


: Fair enough... (none / 0) (#15)
by kdog on Thu Aug 20, 2009 at 01:19:01 PM EST

sticking 8 needles, even one, in someone's arm against their will is cruel and unusual..but I know John Law disagrees, per usual:)

Too bad (none / 0) (#12)
by Fabian on Thu Aug 20, 2009 at 09:45:24 AM EST

prisoners can't choose from a menu - a fatal dose of Propofol? Heroin? Opium? Even Novocaine can be fatal - oddly enough, I found this out from a woman who had been given a lot of local anesthetic when she was in labor.

The eight needles is because the procedure has to comply with regulations designed to make the process as comfortable as possible. Usually, the person is rendered unconscious, then their heart is stopped. The drugs chosen have to be as reliable and effective as possible which leads to a lot of quibbling.


It Worked For Bill Clinton (none / 0) (#2)
by Michael Masinter on Wed Aug 19, 2009 at 09:48:21 PM EST

Ricky Ray Rector, 1992. Tough on crime wins; remember who signed the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act into law.

Yes we remember (none / 0) (#3)
by Jeralyn on Wed Aug 19, 2009 at 10:53:54 PM EST

and have criticized it many times. At least Bill Clinton has acknowledged those policies were too draconian and he recommends different ones now. This is 2009 and these policies are continuing and Bill Clinton is not in a position to change the law. Obama, on the other hand, could push Congress harder in this area. Although with crime warrior Joe Biden in the veep slot, I don't expect any progress.


Utterly amoral and pathetic ..... (none / 0) (#4)
by Rojas on Wed Aug 19, 2009 at 11:17:34 PM EST

I would assume Michael point is that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.


I don't think Obama is going to do anything (none / 0) (#5)
by MrConservative on Thu Aug 20, 2009 at 01:16:10 AM EST

The Democrats have zero nads on this issue. I think it will be a generation, or maybe even generations, until the devastation wrought by the conservative revolution is reversed.


: It will be. (none / 0) (#11)
by JamesTX on Thu Aug 20, 2009 at 09:44:51 AM EST

If it ever is. They were smart about it. While the public was preoccupied with technological change, they gutted the government for generations to come. The problem now is that we don't really have any liberals anymore. "Progressives" are people who lean to the left on a few of the issues that discriminate liberals from conservatives -- and they all do their leaning on different issues. So, a few progressives will worry about the death penalty, while most will be for it or just won't care. They wiped us out as an ideological force.

People really do this, huh? (none / 0) (#6)
by mexboy on Thu Aug 20, 2009 at 02:41:56 AM EST

The routine way, the ending of that human life is recorded, is heartbreaking.

: it mechanical (none / 0) (#7)
by Jen M on Thu Aug 20, 2009 at 07:35:55 AM EST

dry legalistic procedure makes it easier for people to do horrific things.

comment reciting the crime deleted (none / 0) (#16)
by Jeralyn on Thu Aug 20, 2009 at 05:57:14 PM EST

this is about the execution of the offender. If you want to talk about the crime victim, please visit a site promoting crime victims. The nature of the crime has no relevance to topic of this thread.