South Carolina inmate chooses to die by lethal injection amid concerns about firing squad

COLUMBIA S C AP South Carolina death row inmate Stephen Stanko on Friday chose to die by lethal injection after his lawyers noted he was troubled by what appeared to be a lingering death of the last person in the state who was killed by a firing squad Stanko who set to die June had a choice among firing squad lethal injection or the electric chair His lawyers mentioned in previous court filings he didn t want to suffer what he thought was cooking from thousands of volts of electricity Firing squad questions They reported he was leaning toward the firing squad before questions surfaced about whether Mikal Mahdi suffered agonizing pain for about seconds three times longer than expected at his April execution after the firing squad nearly missed his heart In reviewing autopsy reports attorneys communicated him the state s lethal injection protocols appear to send a rush of fluid into the lungs that feels like drowning when a lethal dose of pentobarbital is put into the inmate s veins Stanko s lawyers had demanded the South Carolina Supreme Court to delay his execution so they could get more information about the firing squad or further investigate any expected problems but the justices refused their request Wednesday South Carolina s multiple executions Stanko has been sentenced to death twice in the state for two separate murders the killing of a friend and the killing of his girlfriend as he raped her daughter South Carolina restarted executions in September after obtaining pentobarbital used in lethal injections thanks to a new secrecy law The state didn t execute a prisoner from to after its supply of lethal injection drugs expired and pharmacies refused to sell them more unless their identities could be kept secret The crimes Stanko is being executed for killing his -year-old friend Henry Turner Stanko went to Turner s home in April after lying about his father dying and shot Turner twice while using a pillow as a silencer government mentioned Stanko stole Turner s truck cleaned out his bank account and spent the next sparse days in Augusta Georgia where he stated people in town for the Masters golf tournament that he owned several Hooters restaurants He stayed with a woman who took him to church She called police once after seeing his photo and learning that he was requested police mentioned Hours before killing Turner Stanko beat and strangled his girlfriend in her home and raped her daughter before slashing the teen s throat The daughter survived and testified against him at one of his trials How the lethal injection will happen During Stanko s execution he will be strapped to a gurney with his arm outstretched Diagnostic workers will place an IV in his arm before the curtain is opened to the witness room His lawyer can read a final declaration and then the execution will start with no announcement It has typically taken about minutes before a clinician comes in checks the inmate and declares him dead Autopsies done on two of the three previous inmates killed by lethal injection in South Carolina in the past year have shown their lungs filled with massive amounts of fluid Experts mentioned that is what usually happens when someone is given a massive dose of pentobarbital Biological experts hired by the state revealed the drug knocks the inmate unconscious before they ever feel any other sensation or pain Observers to the executions noted inmates don t have any signs of consciousness after about seconds Other experts hired by lawyers for the inmates explained prisoners may still be able to feel and that the rush of fluid is like drowning One of the three inmates killed by lethal injection last year did not choose to have an autopsy for religious reasons Two doses of the drug In the three most of contemporary lethal injection deaths prison functionaries have given two large doses of the sedative pentobarbital about minutes apart Bulk other states and the federal ruling body give just one dose of the drug but have a second on hand if needed Prison functionaries have not declared why they are giving two doses or whether that is part of their normal procedures citing a law that keeps secret the providers of lethal injection drugs the identities of members of execution teams and the procedures used Source