'It's pretty silent and you're just watching': Reporter describes witnessing Arkansas execution
It's surprisingly hard to tell whether someone is suffering during a lethal injection, says Jacob Rosenberg.
The Arkansas Times reporter was the media witness for the execution of convicted killer and rapist Marcel Williams — the second of Monday night's back-to-back executions and the third inmate put to death in the state in recent weeks.
Arkansas is rushing to carry out a slew of executions before its supply of the lethal injection sedative midazolam expires on April 30. The controversial drug has been involved in a number of botched executions.
Rosenberg spoke with As It Happens host Carol Off about what he saw in the execution chamber. Here is a part of their conversation.
When the curtains close after they pronounce the time of death, it's like a mirror. You can see your own reflection and it wasn't the most easy thing to deal with.- Jacob Rosenberg
Carol Off: What was happening when you and the other witnesses went into the execution chamber?
Jacob Rosenberg: We sat down. We're in the room, which is sort of a few rows of chairs that face these windows, and then there's a black curtain. And behind that curtain, we knew that Marcel Williams was in the execution chamber with us.
At that point, we're waiting and we're assuming that the execution will go ahead at 8:15 [p.m.] as planned. But there's a last-minute stay. And the reason there's a stay is because the execution earlier of Jack Jones potentially was tortuous.
The lawyers debated that for about an hour. During that hour, Marcel Williams was still in that gurney, strapped down, and we were waiting in that room.
CO: When they opened the curtains, what did you see?
JR: There's a florescent light. It's sort of yellow. The director of the Department of Corrections, her name is Wendy Kelly, is in the room. She asks for Marcel Williams' last words. He did not seem to have any.
Then, there's one official in there, and he sort of makes a short announcement that they're beginning. And then the audio's cut from the room. So it's pretty silent and you're just watching.
Marcel Williams was in a gurney, with his right arm facing us, and you could see the side of his face.
And at this point, we have to assume that the midazolam, the first drug in the three-drug protocol, is administered. But it's hard to know. There's no announcement.
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It's a sedative, not an anaesthetic. So it's controversial of whether or not that really stops the pain of the second and third drug.
What really makes this difficult to know if Marcel Williams was in pain during this execution is because the second drug is a paralytic, and once that is administered, you know, any movement would be ceased. So he could be in extreme pain, but we wouldn't be able to see it. It's been described as a chemical tomb.
And the third drug is extremely painful. It's been described as fire running through the veins by certain people.
So as the execution goes forward, there's no indication when the paralytic drug is administered. We think it's after the midazolam has made it clear that the inmate is unconscious, but that's controversial.
As a witness in the room it's really hard to know if Marcel Williams is feeling pain or not. All we know is what we can see.
CO: Mr. Williams was convicted of rape and murder and admitted guilt to those crimes. What do you say to those who say it doesn't matter if he suffered?
JR: As a reporter you're just trying to make sure that you're there as a witness and you're recording exactly what happens, and so that's what I did to the best of my ability.
CO: How many executions have you witnessed?
JR: This is my first execution that I've ever witnessed.
CO: Would you do it again?
JR: That's a really hard question to answer. I don't think it's something I'll ever walk into lightly. But someone has to be there to view it to some extent, and it's something that you have to have knowledge about because you don't want to come out and say that the prisoners were just falling asleep. It's a much more complicated process than that.
After viewing one, it's not like this is ever going to go away. When the curtains close after they pronounce the time of death, it's like a mirror. You can see your own reflection and it wasn't the most easy thing to deal with.