Posted on 07/03/2007 8:23:23 AM PDT by Krista33
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The mother of a US man whose 2006 execution took 86 minutes and involved sticking needles into him 19 times has sued the prison team which oversaw the execution for civil rights violations.
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On Monday Irma Clark filed suit in the Cincinnati, Ohio, district court, alleging her son Joseph Clark was exposed to "excessive suffering" violating the US constitution when he was put to death on May 2, 2006, at a state prison in Lucasville, Ohio, according to court documents.
The suit claims that two prison administrators and 12 members of the execution team ignored the fact that Clark, who had been sentenced to death for a 1984 murder, had long been an intravenous drug user making it difficult to carry out the execution by lethal injection.
The filing said it took the execution team 25 minutes on their first attempt to place shunts in Clark's arms to inject the three drugs used in the execution, because of heavy scar tissue on his arms from drug use.
"The first execution attempt failed, probably due to a collapsed vein," the complaint read. "The execution team discovered the problem when Mr Clark lifted his head from the gurney and repeatedly stated, 'It don't work.'"
Clark also asked if there was some other way they could put him to death, according to the suit.
In a second try, it took the team another half-hour to find a usable vein, and as they did, "witnesses could hear Mr Clark's groans from behind the curtain."
After Clark was finally pronounced dead, 86 minutes after the process began, an autopsy showed 19 needle puncture wounds from the process.
The suit alleges the team did not follow procedures and was negligent in handling the execution.
"As a result of defendants' deliberate indifference to the substantial risk of a problematic execution, Mr Clark needlessly suffered humiliation, pain and suffering, and emotional stress," it said.
The suit asks for 150,000 dollars in damages.
Several US states have recently halted executions due to problems with the lethal injection method.
This needle method is garbage. Old Sparky was fail safe and reliable.
She is quite correct. This is why we need to go back to hanging in the public square.
Wrong, the execution took 23 years.
.30 caliber works just fine.
Can the defense call him as a witness? Oh, wait...
You took the words right out of my mouth. No one talks about the torture the victim endured. Kind of like Pelosi feeling sorry for terrorists after they behead someone.
What about the people HE killed....did they have to suffer?
It sounds like she is suing on bekalf of her dead son. So the money will go to his estate? Then the victim’s family can sue and recover?
I hope the family of her son’s victim sues her for everything she gets.
“Old Sparky was fail safe and reliable.”
Even if the perps head occasionally caught on fire you can at least say that Old Sparky was effective.
Next time they should hang him.
I agree. Go back to the guillotine.
Quick. Painless. Certain.
Don’t forget to wet the sponge :)
When picking the punishment the court should assess the manner in which the victim suffered.
"Lfe, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." If you stick a pipe up somebody's @ss and scream racial epithets then quid pro quo should be applied. A slow agonizing gang rape? An earwig might be in order!
Phooey.
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