January 17, 2015

"An Oklahoma inmate executed amid a legal challenge over lethal injection began complaining about the effects on his body before the drugs were administered..."

"... prompting some to question whether he may have exaggerated his symptoms to help his fellow death row inmates' case."
Charles Warner, who was executed Thursday for the killing of an 11-month-old girl in 1997, said during his last words: 'It feels like acid.' The comment came before any of the lethal drugs were administered and while he was only receiving a saline drip through an intravenous line....

Warner was the first person put to death in Oklahoma since a botched execution in April that left Curt Lockett gasping for air and writhing in pain for 43 minutes. The procedure drew national attention to the drugs used in lethal injections.

On Thursday, after the first drug, a sedative, was administered, Warner again complained: 'My body is on fire.'

53 comments:

traditionalguy said...

Talk about a dedicated jail-house lawyer. This guy wanted to preserve the record for an Appeal.

SGT Ted said...

Of course he was lying.

The anti's will of course latch onto the last words of a literal baby killer in order to keep people like him alive in the future.

chickelit said...

Is it time for a top-down order from D.C. saying no more State's Rights for the death penalty? That seems to be the way we're going.

BTW, they probably didn't warm the saline before injecting it in him -- he felt the heat of exchange which is physically analogous to feeling the enthalpy change of acid mixing with water and (I presume) blood.

BarrySanders20 said...

You mean we should discount the veracity of a rapist/murderer of an 11 month old baby?

Just the beginning of the flames of hell.

Ann Althouse said...

Given the extreme emotional component of his experience, you can't assume he's lying. Even if we know for sure that he spoke before any drug entered the IV, the fear alone could feel like burning acid.

Gahrie said...

I say you offer several forms of execution (hanging, firing squad, gas chamber, lethal injection...hell guillotine if you can get one, and let he criminal decide which is to be used. If he refuses, default to a lethal injection and let any pain be damned.

Big Mike said...

Given the extreme emotional component of his experience, you can't assume he's lying.

Like Hell I can't.

jr565 said...

We gotta kill them somehow. If this is no good how about a firing squad?

Laslo Spatula said...

Meeting God with lies still on your lips: not a great start to the next world.

His final words: "My vagina is on fire."


I am Laslo.

dbp said...

I know the wheels of justice are slow but 17 years from crime to execution? I am far more troubled by this level of delay than the supposed pain of execution.

Michael K said...

The gas chamber was still the best and most humane. Many of these people have been drug addicts and have no usable veins.

Bart Hall (Kansas, USA) said...

If the sedative was propofol and it wasn't mixed with some lidocaine it would sting a lot. IIRC states are shifting to propofol because the Euro-weenie manufacturers of thiopental and such refuse to sell it to departments of correction -- part of an explicit attempt to undermine capital punishment in the US.

I wonder if they also refuse to sell stout rope to Japanese prisons.

dbp said...

I do not see why we need such complicated methods of execution. It is well known that breathing an inert gas gives a painless death. The feeling of suffocation comes from CO2 build-up in the blood. The inert gas carries off the CO2 and there is no feeling of distress. You just black-out and then suffocate.

iowan2 said...

Atticus Finch protocols for Death Penalty, 2 eye witnesses. If it is determined the eye witnesses lied, they get life in prison. This should happen in 12 months or the sentence of death penalty is off the table. That time would increase with each request granted to the defense to delay trial. Defense seeks and receives a continuence, that extends the time from 12 months.

Big Mike said...

The girl he murdered would be 18 now if he hadn't crossed her path. Graduating high school, perhaps looking forward to college and a long, happy life.

robinintn said...

"It feels like acid." "My body is on fire." Good.

Wince said...

I'm in favor of state executions involving some level of horror in order to require the imposition to be proportional and justified.

Fritz said...

BTW, they probably didn't warm the saline before injecting it in him -- he felt the heat of exchange which is physically analogous to feeling the enthalpy change of acid mixing with water and (I presume) blood.

I have two "acid in my veins" moments. When I was 19 I was in the hospital getting an IV antibiotic for a compound fracture. It went in as a drip, and when the Keflex was added to the line, I could feel it burn up my arm. Once, the IV was out of place and the nurse proposed to give it straight. That's when I finally figured out you could say "no".

The second time was donating "double reds" to the Red Cross. They take out a pint, centrifuge out the red cells, and re-inject the plasma, twice. Both times, replacing the plasma was painful because it had cooled so much while being treated.

Jenn said...

This guy raped an infant to death. I'm mostly outraged that his method of execution isn't a wood chipper, feet first.

kzookitty said...

It feels like acid.
That's a feature not a bug.

My body is on fire.
Taste of things to come.

Kazookitty

Wince said...

Aren't killers supposed to have "ice water in their veins"?

n.n said...

Why are we duplicating resources and methods? Send him to Planned Parenthood. They are already government-certified for administration of lethal injection. They also offer human rights-approved methods to decapitate and dismember [wholly innocent] human lives.

It's quite odd that in a liberal society with an abortion clinic on every corner, that there are still separate facilities to abort lives of convicted murderers.

David said...

"prompting some"

I'm one of the some. Indeed, the physical feeling could have been induced by fear, but I'm going with the more likely cause, given his character. The guy wanted one more mindfuck before he left.

He died doing what he loved.

Deep State Reformer said...

Put a fucking .357 hollow point into his brain stem. He'll feel nadda. What makes these pricks think they're entitled to be gently put down like a beloved family pet or a senescent elder in a Belgian hospice? Sheesh.

Dr.D said...

Hemp rope is cheap and reusable, a wonderful "green solution."

Why should we care about his pain? I really don't.

Real American said...

oh well. watchya gonna do? NEXT!

James Pawlak said...

The most "painless" forms of execution are: A medium caliber bullet through the base of the skull; And, long-drop hanging.

Perhaps, we should take a lesson from "The Mikado" and "make the punishment fit the crime". Murder by strangulation = slow hanging; By beating = beating to death (As done in the Papal States); Combined with rape = vertical impalement; Etc.

Curious George said...

"Ann Althouse said...
...the fear alone could feel like burning acid."

And you know this how?

Anonymous said...

I could never figure out who I pitied more. Brother Jed and Sister Pat. Or the students who wasted so much time publicly mocking them !

cubanbob said...

The Department Of Defense doesn't guarantee any serviceman a quick and painless death and with that my give-a-crap meter for any pain and suffering of executed criminals doesn't register.

loudogblog said...

I can tell you from personal experience that having an anxiety attack can make you feel like you're burning up. Ever heard the phrase, "being put on the hot seat?"

Curious George said...

"loudogblog said...
I can tell you from personal experience that having an anxiety attack can make you feel like you're burning up. Ever heard the phrase, "being put on the hot seat?"

I have, but the origin of the term has nothing to do with the symptoms of anxiety.

Jim said...

Sounds like the last time I donated platelets. I'm going again soon after I kick this flu.

Ken Mitchell said...

A "saline" drip can include potassium. When I was in the hospital some years back, they put me on a potassium chloride IV, and it did in fact feel like it was liquid fire in my arm. I told the nurse that if she didn't remove it, I was going to remove it myself.

Sharc said...

That sting you feel is just pride.

Drago said...

Althouse: "Ann Althouse said...
Given the extreme emotional component of his experience, you can't assume he's lying"

We can't?

Oh, okay then.

Paul said...

Aw shucks folks, he 'only' killed an 11 month old baby.

Did they mention he raped the baby?

Yes, first-degree rape and first-degree murder of 11-month-old Adrianna Waller on August 22, 1997. The child was the daughter of Warner's girl friend who testified that she left the child in Warner's custody while she went to the grocery store.

See the facts are not in dispute:

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ok-court-of-criminal-appeals/1364846.html


Oh, did they mention his rap sheet?

Rusty said...

And I care, why?

SteveR said...

Its just started, the whole fire thing for him.

Joseph Blieu said...

Just use the same chemicals Belgium uses to kill those who want to die. It must be painless if they have so many volunteers.

whitney said...

Maybe it did feel like acid. Being pulled into hell has gotta hurt

Freeman Hunt said...

When I read things like this, I like to look up the crime. Shot someone in the heat of the moment? Killed someone in a fight? Gang violence by young, impressionable people surrounded by terrible influences? Raped a baby to death?

The last one shuts off a lot of empathy.

Most of us will die in pain, often after months or even years of pain.

Anonymous said...

Being an old ER nurse....I have had oodles of patients complain about the feelings of the IV dripping into their veins. Yeah, Ann, I could plausibly give you half a point on the "extreme emotional component of his experience" BUT I'm not that generous. The fool needed killin' and what he felt aint no problem with me!
Steve
(Ex Madisonian and now safely in Texas)

Doug said...

It just mystifies me why a murderer would tell a lie like that!

Doug said...

Jenn said, "This guy raped an infant to death. I'm mostly outraged that his method of execution isn't a wood chipper, feet first." Why not dick first?

30yearProf said...

I'm sure his victim suffered (or at least that 95% plus of murder victims) suffered mentally or physically during the course of their murder.

Why should we care if the murderer feels a bit of discomfort too?

chillblaine said...

The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire, we don't need no water, let the m f er burn...

chillblaine said...

"the fear alone could feel like burning acid"

Good. Ezra Klein said that "men need to feel a cold spike of fear when they begin a sexual encounter." If that is the new standard, I would hope this monster experienced shattering continuous fear that started when he was sentenced. Because retribution.

Anonymous said...

What about trying the drugs that the State of Oregon uses for assisted suicide?

Chef Mojo said...

As someone, who as a matter of routine, is frequently injected with very dangerous chemicals which cause me immense pain and discomfort, I've really only got this to say to subhuman dirtbags who rape babies:

"Suck it up, cupcake, and stop whining like a pussy. It's embarrassing and pathetic. Just die already, ok?"

Another thing I just can't wrap my brain around; how in the world does a grown man rape a baby? I mean, it's obvious that a man can do it. I just can't conceive of how that's done. My mind just locks down with horror.

Chef Mojo said...

Might I also suggest that there's a simple solution to the whole "junkie veins" problem? Strap the bastard down , and install a PICC line. And... ZOOM! The meds go right in over the heart. Very quick and effective. After my 2nd chemo protocol, I became known as a "hard stick," because those previous protocols had collapsed my veins, just like a junkie's. The PICC line has worked like a charm, and made things much easier on me. Death row scumbags being prepped for execution would just need a PICC line for half a day. No worry about maintaining the line. After all, what are you going to need a saline and heparin flush for?

Clyde said...

Waaah, waaah, waaah. Cry me a river, baby-killer. Good riddance.

Carnifex said...

I've actually "evolved" on my stance on the death penalty. Heck, 10 years ago i would have said "And.." But as I don't condone abortion, neither can I condone execution.

My personal philosophy does not condone the taking of a life in cold blood, period. It's got to do with MY conscious, not what some criminal did.

Life without parole, as in "NO PAROLE", not that no parole except for days ending in Y shit either.

We all die , let God sort us out.