Botched Execution Used 15 Lethal Doses

It took two hours and over 15 lethal drug doses to finally kill Arizona inmate Joseph Wood in a botched execution his lawyer is calling “the most prolonged execution in recent memory.” Documents released Friday detail the process, which took 15 doses of a new drug cocktail, a combination of 50 milligrams of painkiller hydromorphone and 50 milligrams of sedative midazolam. Wood gasped for air and struggled throughout the process, which took an excruciating two hours. “This is why an independent investigation by a non-government authority is necessary,” said Wood’s lawyer, Dale Baich. A similar drug combination was used in the execution of Ohio inmate Dennis McGuire, who struggled and gasped for air for 25 minutes before finally dying.