LETHAL INJECTION: Inmate on Gurney Tells Guards "It's not working."

 

On May 2, 2006, the execution of Joseph Clark in Ohio was delayed 90 minutes because the execution team was unable to find a suitable vein to deliver the lethal chemicals. After the team tried repeatedly to find a vein, Clark called out, "It's not working, it's not working." The guards closed the curtains to block witnesses from viewing the execution chamber. Witnesses then heard Clark moaning and groaning from behind the curtain. The curtain later reopened after the execution team managed to find a vein in Clark's left arm and he was put to death. Clark's execution proceeded despite the issuance of a stay based on a lethal injection challenge a few days earlier in another Ohio case by a federal court. (The Toledo Blade, May 2, 2006).