The execution chamber was supposed to be silent, clinical, and controlled. Instead, witnesses say it became the scene of a slow, deeply unsettling breakdown that no one inside the room could stop. What unfolded that night has since ignited outrage, legal scrutiny, and renewed questions about whether lethal injection can ever be carried out without unnecessary suffering.

Hours before the execution, the condemned man made a routine final meal request, a privilege granted to nearly every death row inmate in the state. According to prison records later examined by reporters, the meal was heavy, greasy, and served only a short time before he was scheduled to be sedated. Medical experts would later say that timing alone should have raised immediate red flags.

Internal prison logs show that guards noticed something was off even before he reached the chamber. He reportedly complained of nausea and stomach pain while being escorted, symptoms that intensified as the clock ticked closer to the execution window. Despite those warning signs, the process moved forward under protocols that critics say leave little room for human judgment.

Once strapped to the gurney, witnesses seated behind the glass said his breathing appeared labored almost immediately. One journalist present later told a criminal justice nonprofit investigation that the man’s chest movements were uneven, with long pauses that seemed to grow longer after the first drugs entered his system.

Moments that were supposed to signal unconsciousness instead raised alarm. His jaw clenched, his neck stiffened, and his eyes remained open far longer than expected, according to multiple eyewitness accounts later cited in civil rights filings. A former corrections official reviewing the testimony said those reactions were “not consistent with a smooth sedation.”