TroyDavis: Eye Witness account of Troy Davis Execution
SAVANNAH, Ga. --
September 22, 2011
WSAV News 3's JoAnn Merrigan was a media monitor for Troy Davis's execution. Her responsibility was to witness the initial stages of the execution.
This is her relayed account of what happened.
Prison officials arrived to take me to the prison at 5:45pm. I arrived at the State Prison in Jackson, Georgia at 5:50pm.
At 6:02, I was taken into a waiting room where I stayed for around 4 hours with no knowledge of what was going on. Every so often, someone would come in and say the execution had been delayed.
Around 9:00pm, I went to the bathroom and heard some people talking.
Around 10:20pm, an official came and brought me out into a hallway where I was told to stop. Three men, including the warden, were walking around. Attorney General Sam Olens was also there. He walked quickly one way, then the other. Then the prison official said it was time to go around 10:25pm.
I got into a car with three attorneys from the Attorney General's office, and rode along with a caravan of cars to a building. The drive took around two minutes, and we arrived at 10:27pm.
I walked into the room and sat in the front row, about a dozen people were also in the room. The room had a window showing the execution chamber.
Two men came in, the warden and another man.
Then five guards escorted in Troy Davis and laid him down on the gurney. He appeared calm at this time.
The five guards began methodically strapping in Davis. They started with each foot first, then each knee, then each arm.
A fifth strap was laid across Davis's shoulders.
At this point, Davis picked up his head to look around the room. I was about four to five feet from the window.
Two women then came in with heart monitoring equipment and strapped it to his chest. No one in the room spoke.
The two women then put a syringe into each arm, the left first then the right. Long tubes connected the needles through two holes in the cement wall. I understand that tubes were connected to two intravenous drips containing the chemicals.
At this point, Davis raised his head for a second time to look at the room beyond the window.
Two guards then placed surgical tape around Davis's fingertips, strapping them to the gurney.
The bed was then raised to an upright angle, facing the crowd. I could see him clearly, being only four to five feet from the window.
I then moved to the back of the room. At this point, the family of Officer Mark MacPhail, including Billy MacPhail the brother, and Mark MacPhail, Jr., the son, entered the room and sat in the front row. There were also other witnesses, totaling eight people, who also sat in the front row.
Defense attorney's Jason Ewart and Thomas Ruffin came in and sat in the second row with others.
At this point, other media witnesses were brought in and they sat in the back row with me. A total of around 30 people were in the room.
About 15 minutes had passed since I first entered the room.
A microphone was turned on and the warden said, “We are here for the execution of Troy Anthony Davis with all witnesses present." He also asked that the witnesses remain silent. He then asked Davis if he had anything he wanted to say. Davis replied, "yes."
Davis said, "I want to address the members of the MacPhail family. Despite the situation we are all in, you think I’ve killed your father, your brother, your husband, I’m not the person, I’m innocent, what happened was not my fault, I did not have a gun that night, I did not shoot your family member. I’m so sorry for your loss, I really am. I hope you will finally see the truth and others will, too. To my family and supporters, thank you for your prayers and continue to pray. For those about to take my life, I forgive you. God bless you all."
The warden then read the death warrant. Davis looked out at the crowd, and though he seemed calm, it did appear he was somewhat scared.
The room was very quiet when the injections began.
First, Davis received an injection of pentobarbital, a sedative. Second, he received an injection of pancuronium bromide, a muscle relaxer. Lastly, he was injected with potassium chloride to induce cardiac arrest.
After a short amount of time, Davis yawned then closed his eyes.
They room was quiet and all I heard was my pencil moving over paper.
A woman then came in and checked his eyes, then there was a "beep." Mark MacPhail, Jr. was leaning towards the window.
The microphone was turned on again, and two doctors entered the room wearing long white coats. One doctor checked his pulse and placed a stethoscope on his chest. Then the second doctor performed the same procedure. At the end, the second doctor looked at the first and nodded his head.
The warden then said, "At 11:08 September 21st, the court ordered execution of Troy Davis was carried out in accordance with the laws of Georgia."
I was escorted out of the room and saw a black Butts County coroner’s van of outside the building.
About 30 to 35 minutes had passed by the time I entered the room, until the time Davis was pronounced dead. source
h/t http://youknowwhokilledyoudontyou.blogspot.com/
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