LUCASVILLE, Ohio (AP) — A condemned Ohio inmate appeared to gasp several times and took more than 15 minutes to die Thursday as he was executed with a combination of drugs never before tried in the U.S.
Death row inmate Dennis McGuire made several loud snorting or snoring sounds during one of the longest executions since Ohio resumed capital punishment in 1999. In attempting to halt his execution with the new method, McGuire's attorneys had argued last week he was at substantial risk of "agony and terror" while straining to catch his breath as he experienced a medical phenomenon known as air hunger. more