TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (Bloomberg) — Experts say McVeigh's death by lethal injection may not be all that serene.
They cite the execution of Stephen McCoy — executed in Texas in 1989 for rape and murder. McCoy coughed, his chest heaved five times and he groaned twice before dying.
McVeigh will receive three 10-second injections spaced one minute apart. The first one, sodium pentothal, is supposed to put him to sleep. The second paralyzes the muscles, and the third, potassium chloride, stops the heart.
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If too little sodium pentothal is injected, the prisoner could be conscious, yet unable to move as the "burning sensation courses its way to the heart," said anesthesiologist Edward Brunner. "He'll die in agony."