The last hours before Kenneth Williams’ “problematic” execution
The execution of Arkansas death row inmate Kenneth Williams, the last of four Arkansas inmates put to death, is raising questions after witnesses reports say his body repeatedly lurched when a lethal drug coursed through his veins.
His attorneys called on Friday for an investigation into the “problematic” execution, but state officials said he showed no pain, CNN reports.
His last meal was at 3:11 p.m. He had two pieces of fried chicken with a side of sweet rice, BBQ pinto beans and one slice of bread. For dessert, he had one peanut butter cookie and a cinnamon roll.
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Atv10:19 p.m., Williams was escorted from his quiet cell in the Arkansas’ Cummins Unit prison to the execution chamber, where guards spent eight minutes restraining him to a gurney.
Then, members of the execution team placed a catheter and two intravenous lines in his body in 17 minutes. At 10:29 p.m., 31 witnesses arrive walked into the room.
At 10:50 p.m. Williams read his last words from a sheet of paper:
“I humbly extend my sincerest of apologies to the families I senselessly wronged and deprived of their loved ones. The families of: Dominique Hurd, Jerell Jenkins, Cecil Boren, Michael Greenwood. I was more than wrong. The crimes I perpetrated against you all was senseless, extremely hurtful and inexcusable. I humbly beg you your forgiveness, and pray you find the peace, healing, and closure, you all deserve. … I’m not the person I was, I’ve been transformed. Some things can’t be undone, I seek forgiveness.”
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At 10:52 p.m. the execution has started – the first of the lethal drugs, midazolam, was delivered. The first drug took effect at 10:55 p.m, when he started to breath heavy.
Williams body jerked about 15 times across 10 or 15 seconds, before moving five more times at a slower rate. His chest started going up and down rapidly for several minutes.
“For about 10 seconds, his chest raised and lowered as though he was coughing but there was not coughing sound,” reads a log of the execution. “His hands remained relaxed and he did not have a grimace or indication of distress on his face.”
At 10:57 p.m. other two drugs were injected, after an attendant checked if Williams was conscious.
At 11:05 p.m., Kenneth Williams died.
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