Execution team struggled

2005-12-13 18:28

San Quentin - Prison officials struggled to administer the lethal injection that took Stanley "Tookie" Williams' life early on Tuesday, witnesses said.

It took more than 10 minutes and at least two tries to introduce the lethal cocktail into his veins, during which time Williams lifted his head and looked around while onlookers raised fists and blew kisses to show support.

"The first hint that it would be a difficult medical procedure came as they tried to insert the needle into his right arm," said Michael Linder of KNX Radio in Los Angeles, one of a group of journalists allowed to witness the execution.

"I saw a technician raise one of the alcohol towelettes and it had quite a bit of blood on it," he added.

"They had some trouble with the second IV which was in the left arm, it took them, it may have been 10 minutes, to deal with that," added John Simerman of the Contra Costa Times, a San Francisco-area newspaper.

"It seemed to me that it was taking much longer than Williams thought it would. He kept lifting his head, shaking his head, putting it back down, almost as if, it seemed like disgust to me, and frustration," said Kim Curtis of the Associated Press.

At one point, Williams looked around and appeared to ask, "You doing that right?" said Curtis.

"The execution team struggled to tap a vein, and Williams raised his head as if to question their competence," wrote Steve Lopez of the Los Angeles Times.

Other onlookers told how Williams' supporters raised their fists in the air, blew kisses to him and whispered "I love you".

But people witnessing the execution on behalf of Williams' victims were "stony" and "impassive", according to Kevin Fagan of the San Francisco Chronicle.

During the procedure Williams looked at his supporters, gave what one witness described as a "hard, unwavering stare" at assembled journalists, and spoke to a guard whose hand lay on Williams' right bicep during the execution.

"The silence that drew out for more than half an hour was punctuated twice, by the corrections officer reading the death warrant and then the announcement of the time of death," said Eric Leonard of KFI radio.

- AFP