Nathan James Jr, a death row inmate was put through ‘3 hours of pain’ in what human right activist all as the longest execution of all time.
It is reported that the execution was to take place at 6 m on July 28, however, officials did not go ahead with it until 9 pm and the inmate was pronounced dead at 9.27 pm.
Officials at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore initially reported that the execution went according to plan, but the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) later admitted that there had been problems finding the intravenous line.
According to the Mirror, an autopsy revealed that James had several puncture wounds and needle cuts on his body as he “struggled and had to be sedated”.
“James, it appeared, had suffered a long death,” stated an article in the Atlantic which also cited experts who said that the convicted murderer may not have spoken before he died because he could have been sedated to make it easier to find a vein.
Even though the execution was to take place by 6 pm, but the media was not allowed in until 8.57 pm.
Curtains for witnesses were closed at 9.18 pm and his time of death was not recorded until 9.27 pm which led the human rights organizations to claim it may have been the longest execution in US history.
Director of Reprieve US, Maya Foa said: “Subjecting a prisoner to three hours of pain and suffering is the definition of cruel and unusual punishment.
“This is the latest example of the extreme lengths states will go to hide the brutal reality of lethal injection because they know the public would oppose it if they found out what was really going on.”
He told journalists: “[I can’t] overemphasise this process. We’re carrying out the ultimate punishment, the execution of an inmate.
“And we have protocols and we’re very deliberate in our process, and making sure everything goes according to plan. So if that takes a few minutes or a few hours, that’s what we do.”
