Botched Executions: People Who Just Wouldn’t Die

1. Clayton D. Lockett - Lethal Injection

Image Source/ NewsweekThe experimental drug Midazalom was the source of a lot of controversy in Oklahoma, yet it was still planned to be used in the execution of Clayton D. Lockett. The execution started with the technician struggling to find a usable vein for nearly an hour. Eventually, the first sedative was administered and Mr Lockett was declared unconscious. This meant he was ready to receive the next two drugs to kill him. Within a few minutes, Mr Lockett was writhing in pain and breathing very heavily. Prison officials lowered the blinds and ordered all witnesses to leave. Twenty minutes later, the execution was halted. Mr Lockett was still in the execution chamber when he had a heart attack and died.

2. Jesse Joseph Tafero - Electrocution

Image Source/ History Collection6 inch flames erupted from Jesse Joseph Tafero's head during his electrocution! Not only that, it took three jolts of power to stop his breathing. It was revealed after that the natural sponge normally used in executions had been substituted for a synthetic sponge. Another botched execution caused by "human error".

3. Alva Campbell - Attempted Lethal Injection

Image Source/ The InterceptAnother failed execution attempt by lethal injection, once again stalled by being unable to locate suitable veins. 80 minutes passed of the execution team trying any vein they could find, before it was eventually called off. Mr Campbell was a very poorly man, with mobility and breathing difficulties, and he died four months after this on Ohio's death row.

4. John Evans - Electrocution

Image Source/ Daily StarOn April 22nd 1983, John Evans was set to be executed by electrocution. After the first jolt of electricity, Mr Evan's leg set on fire. The electrode also burst from its strap and erupted into flames. At the same time, smoke and sparks were coming from Evan's head under the hood. When examined, there was still a heartbeat found, so the electrode was reattached to his leg which resulted in more flames. STILL, there was a heartbeat. Mr Evans' lawyers pleaded to stop the execution but it was continued. Eventually, Mr Evans died 14 minutes later and his body was left charred and smouldering.

5. Raymond Landry - Lethal Injection

Image Source/ BETIt took 40 minutes from being strapped to the bed for Raymond Landry to die by lethal injection. This was because the syringe came out of Landry's arm two minutes after the drugs were administered. This resulted in deadly chemical spraying across the room at witnesses! The execution team had to try again and reinsert the catheter which took fourteen minutes, and this time the injection was successful.

6. Wilbert Lee Evans - Electrocution

Image Source/ NPRPossibly one of the more traumatic cases for witnesses to see. When Mr Evans was hit with the first jolt of electricity, blood immediately spewed from the mask, drenching his shirt. You could even hear a sizzling sound. This was later confirmed to be a result of elevated blood pressure caused by the electricity.

7. Pedro Medina - Electrocution

Image Source/ Daily StarFoot high flames shout out of Pedro Medina's head after the first jolt of electricity for his execution. The whole chamber filled with smoke and gagged all the witnesses present. The power was manually cut off, but too early, so Medina was still alive and had to sit and suffer until death came. Apparently the sponge used to conduct electricity was improperly applied.

8. Stephen McCoy - Lethal Injection

Image Source/ NY TimesOn May 24th 1989, Stephen McCoy had such a shocking and violent reaction to the lethal injection that one of the witness fainted and crashed into another witness knocking them over. McCoy was gasping, choking and writhing around with his back arching off the gurney. All that was said was that the inmate may have had the drugs administered in a heavier dose than usual or more rapidly.

9. Stephen Peter Morin - Lethal Injection

Image Source/ True Crime EditionStephen Peter Morin was set to die by lethal injection in Indiana on October 16th 1985. Due to his history of drug abuse, the physicians found it very difficult to find a usable vein. This resulted in them probing his arms and legs for nearly 45 minutes before they found a suitable entry point.

10. Horace Franklin Dunkins Jr. - Electrocution

Image Source/ Find a GraveDuring the first attempt to electrocute Mr Dunkins, it was revealed that the jacks had been attached wrong, so it was impossible to generate enough current to cause death. This meant they had to have a second attempt which was successful. This botching was down to 'human error' as the Prison Commissioner later admitted.

11. Romell Broom - Attempted Lethal Injection

Image Source/ EJIMr Broom's execution was terminated in 2009 when they were unable to find a suitable vein. It went on for more than two hours, trying locations all over his body. Mr Broom's face displayed obvious pain during this time. At one point, he put his hands over his face and began to sob. A new date was not set in time and Rommell Broom died in 2020 of Covid-19.

12. Donald Eugene Harding - Asphyxiation

Image Source/ PolicenetCyanide tablets were dropped into the gas chamber to end Donald Eugene Harding's life, but it took 10 and a half minutes for them to do their job. During this time, Harding could be seen by witnesses thrashing around and struggling against his restraints. "A violent death" it was described by some. A lot of the witnesses were left traumatised after witnessing this. Unsurprisingly!

13. Charles Walker - Lethal Injection

Image Source/ WikipediaCharles Walker suffered excruciating pain during his execution by lethal injection in 1990. According to one of the engineers, there was a kink in the plastic tubes going into Mr Walker's arm which stopped the chemicals from reaching his body. In addition to this mistake, the needle was actually pointing towards his fingers rather than his heart, prolonging his death even further!

14. Alpha Otis Stephens - Electrocution

Image Source/ ALIn Georgia, Alpha Otis Stephens was set to die by electrocution. The first charge of electricity did not kill him and he continued to breathe for another 8 minutes with difficulty, until a second charge ended his life. During that period, in between shocks, Mr Stephens was breathing and gasping for air. Prison officials said his body "was just not a conductor of electricity".

15. Robyn Lee Parks - Lethal Injection

Image Source/ A1 Medical IntegrationA sudden and violent reaction was had by Robyn Lee Parks to his injection on execution day in 1992. His jaw, neck and stomach muscles could be seen spasming and he was gagging and gasping for breath for at least 10 minutes before he was finally pronounced to be dead. A very scary sight for everyone there as witnesses.

16. Justin Lee May - Lethal Injection

Another violent reaction to the injection. Justin Lee May was sentenced to be executed on May 7th 1992 in Texas. A witness reported him gasping and coughing and fighting against his restraints once the drugs had been administered. They also noticed his eyes and mouth remained opened after he had taken his final breath, a haunting sight no doubt.

17. Allen Lee Davis - Electrocution

Image Source/ AlamyAllen Lee Davis was the first person to be executed in Florida's new electrocution chair. It was built to accommodate people of Davis' size, which was around 350 pounds. Similar to other botched electrocutions, it was a horrific sight. Blood was pouring from his mouth and pooling on his white shirt.

18. Emmitt Foster - Lethal Injection

Image Source/ NBC NewsThe execution of Emmitt Foster in 1995 lasted only 7 minutes before it had to be halted because the drugs weren't circulating. Foster was left convulsing and gasping so the curtains were drawn to prevent witnesses from seeing. The curtains were only reopened 30 minutes later when Foster was pronounced dead. Later it was revealed that the restraints were too tight and this caused the flow of the drugs to be restricted.

19. Jimmy Lee Gray - Asphyxiation

Image Source/ The New York TimesWhen the gas was released into Jimmy Lee Gray's execution chamber, it resulted in desperate gasps for air which distressed witnesses so much that officials cleared the room within minutes. It was reported that Gray died banging his head against a steel pole in the chamber while moaning loudly. To make matters worse, the executioner was later found to have been drunk!

20. Tommie J. Smith - Lethal Injection

Image Source/ Clark County Prosecuting Attorney1 hour and 9 minutes is how long it took for Tommie Smith to be executed. The execution team failed to find suitable veins to insert the drugs into, so Smith was given a local anaesthetic and a doctor attempted to insert the tube into his neck, twice. 

This also failed. Eventually a vein was located in his foot and he died 20 minutes later.

21. Frank J. Coppola - Electrocution

Image Source/ WikipediaThere was no official witnesses to this execution, but there was an attorney present who reported on the botched execution of Mr Frank J. Coppola. On August 10th 1982, Mr Coppola was sentenced to death by electrocution. It took two 55 second jolts of electricity to kill him. The second jolt caused Mr Coppola's head and leg to catch fire, producing a horrendous odour and a sizzling sound of burning flesh. The whole chamber filled with smoke.

22. Joseph Cannon - Lethal Injection

Image Source/ Death Penalty NewsJoseph Cannon made his final statement and then the execution process began. But a vein in his arm collapsed and the needle popped back out. The curtains were drawn for 15 minutes while the needle was re-inserted and when it re-opened, Cannon was weeping. He gave a second final statement and then the process resumed.

23. Joseph R. Wood - Lethal Injection

Image Source/ WikipediaDespite Mr Wood's attorney's attempts to halt the botched execution, Mr Wood was successfully executed on July 23rd 2014. But it took one hour and forty minutes for him to die. During this time, he repeatedly gasped for air. Although, the Arizona Attorney General's office claimed he was simply asleep and 'snoring'.

24. Bennie Demps - Lethal Injection

Image Source/ Orlando Weekly"They butchered me back there. This is not execution, it is murder." The words Bonnie Demps spoke in his final statement. It took the execution team 33 minutes to find a suitable vein. Demps exclaimed they cut him in his groin and leg and that he was "bleeding profusely".

25. William E. Vandiver - Electrocution

Image Source/ MurderpediaThis was branded an "outrageous" execution by Vandiver's attorney. It took 17 minutes and five shocks of electricity to end William E. Vandiver's life. There was smoke and the smell of burning flesh and all officials could say was that the execution "did not go according to plan".

26. Bert Leroy Hunter - Lethal Injection

Image Source/ MurderpediaHunter seemed to have an unusually strong reaction to the lethal drugs. He was coughing, gasping for air and violently convulsing repeatedly. This continued until he became unconscious. "A violent and agonizing death" said one attorney who was there as a witness.

27. Doyle Lee Hamm - Attempted Lethal Injection

Image Source/ NBC NewsHamm suffered from advanced lymphatic cancer and carcinoma, which constituted several warnings from the defence counsel that it would be impossible to find a vein for the injection. True to their word, for 2 and a half hours the executioners tried to find a vein. This left Hamm with twelve puncture marks all over his body. Eventually, the execution was called off and after a lengthy legal battle, the State decided not to set another date. Hamm died of cancer in November 2021.

28. John Marion Grant - Lethal Injection

Image Source/ NewsweekAfter the first drug, Midazolam, was administered, Grant started to convulse and vomit. Before this execution, there had been arguments that the three-drug injection protocol was unnecessary and caused excruciating pain. Even after Mr Grant's reaction, Oklahoma still use the same method to this day.

29. Ronald Bert Smith Jr. - Lethal Injection

Image Source/ NBC NewsAlabama also use the same controversial drug, Midazolam, as Oklahoma. Smith, who was convicted in 1994 and executed in 2016, heaved, gasped and coughed for thirteen full minutes after the injection was administered, and his death was officially pronounced 34 minutes after the execution began.

30. Ricky Ray Rector - Lethal Injection

Image Source/ Fact RepublicIt took 50 excruciating minutes to find a vein in Rector's arm. Witness couldn't see as the curtains were drawn but they could definitely hear his groans. Rector, who suffered from brain damage, apparently helped the medical team find a vein! It was later said that his veins were unsuitable due to his use of antipsychotic medication.