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Ohio man Dennis McGuire is executed using new drug | |
(35 minutes later) | |
A man convicted of murder in the US state of Ohio has been executed using a new, never-before-tried lethal injection combination. | |
Dennis McGuire, 53, was killed on Thursday with a two-drug cocktail, after the maker of the previous execution drug refused to allow its use in capital punishment. | |
His lawyers argued the new method would cause him to experience extreme terror. | His lawyers argued the new method would cause him to experience extreme terror. |
McGuire was sentenced to death for the 1989 rape and murder of Joy Stewart. | McGuire was sentenced to death for the 1989 rape and murder of Joy Stewart. |
Stewart was pregnant. | Stewart was pregnant. |
In recent years, US states have had increasing difficulty obtaining drugs for use in lethal injections, as their manufacturers have grown unwilling to provide them for that use. | In recent years, US states have had increasing difficulty obtaining drugs for use in lethal injections, as their manufacturers have grown unwilling to provide them for that use. |
Ohio officials elected to use intravenous doses of the sedative midazolam and painkiller hydromorphone for McGuire's execution. | Ohio officials elected to use intravenous doses of the sedative midazolam and painkiller hydromorphone for McGuire's execution. |
Lawyers for McGuire had said the drugs placed him at risk of air hunger, a phenomenon which causes terror as the patient struggles to catch his breath. | |
During the more than 15-minute procedure, McGuire gasped several times and his mouth repeatedly opened and closed, according to an Associated Press news agency reporter who witnessed the execution. | |
An Ohio federal judge had rejected a last-minute appeal to delay the execution after McGuire's legal team argued a jury never heard details of his reportedly troubled childhood. | |
McGuire's lawyers alleged he was abused, leading to impaired brain function that made him prone to impulsive actions. | McGuire's lawyers alleged he was abused, leading to impaired brain function that made him prone to impulsive actions. |
Ohio Governor John Kasich also rejected McGuire's efforts to become an organ donor, a legal manoeuvre that previously allowed another death row inmate an eight-month reprieve. | Ohio Governor John Kasich also rejected McGuire's efforts to become an organ donor, a legal manoeuvre that previously allowed another death row inmate an eight-month reprieve. |