Monday 29 January 2007

State panel discusses how to execute criminals


State panel discusses how to execute criminals

By Jim Ash
news-press.com Tallahassee Bureau

Originally posted on January 29, 2007

TALLAHASSEE – A special commission meets in South Florida this morning to study the state’s method of executing criminals.

The Governor’s Commission on the Administration of Lethal Injection meets at 9 a.m. at the offices of the Florida Bar at the Tampa Airport.

It is the first meeting of the group since Gov. Jeb Bush called a temporary halt to executions following the Dec. 13 botched execution of Angel Nieves Diaz. It took nearly a half-hour, twice the usual time, for Diaz to die.

An autopsy showed the needles used in the execution pushed through his veins and delivered the deadly cocktail of drugs into his soft tissue, slowing their absorption and possibly causing pain.

Commission Chairman Bill Jennings begins the meeting with opening remarks. The group is scheduled to discuss reports and hear testimony from witnesses before it adjourns at 1 p.m.

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